Girls volleyball: Fox Valley's 'Fab Five' set for sectionals

Patty Langanis and Karen Naymola have coached their respective girls volleyball teams against each other many times since Naymola played for Langanis at Cary-Grove.

Tuesday night, though, will be the first time they have matched wits in the postseason.

Langanis' Trojans will take on Naymola's Huntley Red Raiders in the 5:30 p.m. semifinal of the Class 4A Crystal Lake South sectional, followed by the host Gators facing Hononegah.

Cary-Grove (29-7) beat Huntley (24-13) twice during the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division season on its way to sharing the division title with CL South. But both coaches agree Huntley is an improved team since they last met on Oct. 9, the second of Cary-Grove's 2-set wins.

"We have so much respect for Huntley," said Langanis. "They have a lot of talent and they have two outside hitters that can terminate at will. I don't sense we'll be overconfident at all. It will take two very good games to beat them and if we're not mentally strong Huntley will take advantage of that."

The hitters Langanis refers to are junior Erin Erb and sophomore Alyson Dion, who get set up by steady senior Kelsey DeWulff. Huntley also has a strong defense led by senior Haley Arnieri.

"Every time we've played (Cary-Grove) we've been right there with them and then it's been our inexperience that has changed the momentum," said Naymola. "Last time we played we had 10 missed serves.

"But right now we're playing the best volleyball we've played all season. It's just a matter of getting the girls to come out focused and staying strong. Our serve receive has been very consistent and we've been mixing in the jump serve a lot. We have a very tough offense. The mistakes we made when we played Cary-Grove were young mistakes that we've learned from. We've gotten very good at minimizing our errors and we've been playing very consistent."

As has Cary-Grove. The Trojans are on a 13-match winning streak since losing to CL South on Oct. 7. C-G is led offensively by seniors Morgan Lee and Abi Schebel and junior Alli Splitt. Junior setter Erin Olson and senior defender Bree Coffey give the Trojans a balanced all-around attack.

"We know a lot of things have to work in our favor so we just want to play the best volleyball we can," Langanis said. "We're confident if we do that we'll be in a good position to win these next two matches."

If one team in this sectional can bank on experience, it's the host Gators, who made it to the Final Four at Redbird Arena last year.

"It helps, to show what they're playing for," said South coach Jorie Fontana of the downstate experience. "When they walked into that stadium for the first time they realized what a big deal it is."

Led by senior Cincinnati recruit Carly Nolan, senior Emma Burkle and junior Kendall Kilberger, the Gators have been consistently strong at the net, using the precision setting of senior Cassy Sivesind to set things up. A tough defense is quarterbacked by senior Tori Falbo, senior Abby Marchewka and junior Mary Wille.

"What these girls have figured out is when they play their game they play a volleyball that's different from any other I've seen," Fontana said. "Our main focus is to play the best Crystal Lake South volleyball we can play."

In Hononegah (25-8) the Gators face a team that won the NIC-10 title outright for the first time since 2009 and their first regional since 2011 when they knocked off Rockford Boylan last week. Juniors Mika Nelson and Erika Gustafson are the Indians' leading hitters. Senior libero Ashley Smith leads the defense.

"Hononegah has a lot of tall girls at the net," Fontana said. "We'll to adjust to their net play and defend their big hitters."

The winner of the CL South sectional advances to Saturday's Fremd supersectional to play the winner of the Glenbrook North sectional. Libertyville plays Glenbrook South and Stevenson takes on Carmel in the semifinals of that sectional.

Class 3A at Rochelle

Burlington Central (31-6) is in the sectional for the second straight year. The Rockets lost to Marian Central in the sectional finals last year and the Hurricanes loom as a potential championship match foe on Thursday but first BC has to take care of business against Dixon (15-18) on Tuesday, as does Marian Central against Rosary in the opening semifinal.

"Our goal is to win the sectional championship but we understand it's a two-step process," said Rockets' coach Marv Leavitt. "Our focus is on Dixon and bringing our best game because if we don't we'll be going home Tuesday night. It's a great opportunity for our program and we're extremely proud of our efforts throughout the season."

Leading the Rockets' all-around effort through its Big Northern East championship season has been the steady play of senior hitter Lauren Wiltsie and the all-around improvement of senior Aly DeTamble, who set the school record for aces (103), is a 95 percent serve receiver, has 396 digs and 206 kills. Junior Alexis VanHiel and senior Emily Bozich have been strong at the net, the dual setting of seniors Maddy Berry and Mackenzie Whitmer and the defense of senior Jenna Runde have given the Rockets a balanced attack.

Dixon is also a balanced team, especially at the net. The quartet of seniors Haley Fitzsimmons and Phoenix Smith and juniors Jamie Altenburg and Amy Rotella combined for 42 kills in the Duchesses' regional final win over Winnebago.

"Dixon is stronger than their record appears," Leavitt said. "They've played some very good volleyball this year and we won't take them lightly."

The Rochelle sectional winner advances to Saturday's Belvidere supersectional to meet the winner of the Vernon Hills sectional. The semifinals at VH pit defending state champion St. Francis against Johnsburg and Wheaton Academy against Wauconda.

Class 1A at Westminster Christian

Harvest Christian is in the sectional round for the fourth straight year and is looking for its third straight sectional championship. The Lions (22-14) play St. Francis de Sales (12-9) in the 5:30 p.m. semifinal Tuesday, followed by North Shore Country Day taking on Newark.

"It's the fourth time around. The seniors don't know anything else," said Lions' coach Kim Floyd. "They're excited to get the next step going."

The Lions are led at the net by sophomore Mikayla Robinson, the daughter of former Chicago Bear Marcus Robinson who has Division I offers rolling in daily, including from her dad's alma mater South Carolina. Mikayla Robinson has over 200 kills this season. Junior Ellie Burzlaff gives Robinson support at the net and senior libero Jade Martinez provides the steadying influence on the court for a team that only has to guard against itself to win a sectional title again.

"You just have to encourage them to play at their level," Floyd said. "We're trying to improve each game and we have things we're working on each game. We just have to keep the mind engaged and not go into boredom."

The Westminster sectional winner advances to Saturday night's supersectional at Harvest Christian against the winner of the River Ridge sectional, where the semifinals have Freeport Aquin playing Lanark Eastland and Galena taking on two-time defending state champion Keith Country Day, which beat Harvest in 2 sets in their Northeastern Athletic Conference meeting this season.