Nolan, Crystal Lake South on a roll again

Crystal Lake South's girls volleyball team certainly had enough motivation entering Thursday night's Class 4A Prairie Ridge regional title match against rival Crystal Lake Central.

A win would give South a second straight regional crown and a chance to play at home for the sectionals.

The inspired Gators got the job done.

Second-seeded South advanced to the its own sectional with a 26-24, 25-20 win over the talented top-seeded Tigers. It's the 19th regional title in program history for the Gators.

The Gators (30-7), fourth in Class 4A last year, will host Hononegah Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the sectional semifinals.

"Central is a phenomenal team," said Crystal Lake South coach Jorie Fontana. "They played much better than they played last week. Central made the adjustments and tried to find our holes. We had to play well to win. We were certainly motivated by the opportunity to play in the sectional at home."

Central (36-4) couldn't devise a defense to stop Gator standout and Cincinnati recruit Carly Nolan. Nolan filled the stat sheet with 10 kills, 3 blocks, 4 aces and 9 digs.

"Carly plays great in big matches," said Fontana. She was outstanding tonight."

Nolan realized Central would be a tough opponent.

"Central played awesome," said Nolan. "We knew we had to keep pushing the entire match. It is nice to win another regional and get a chance to play two more games at home."

Steady senior setter Cassy Sivesind provided 18 assists with 9 digs and 3 blocks.

'We had to win two tough matches to win the regional," said Sivesind. "Both Central and Prairie Ridge are awesome. Carly is an amazing player. I could set the ball in the bleachers and she would get a kill. We were motivated to have a chance to play two more games at home."

In Game 1, the Gators held a 20-12 lead after a kill by Kendall Kilberger. The Tigers wouldn't quit and tied the game at 24 on a kill by freshman phenom Emily Kelly. The Gators responded by scoring the final 2 points capped by a kill from Kilberger.

In Game 2, the Gators started fast and never trailed. A block from Nolan gave Crystal Lake South a 4-0 lead. The Gators' biggest lead was 9, 16-7, after a kill by Nolan.

Central got back to within 21-20 on a kill by MacKenzie Allen. The Tigers didn't get any closer as the Gators scored the final 4 points with the match-winner coming on a kill from Nolan.

Allen led Central with 9 kills.