Rosary goes down fighting in sectional semifinals

It looked pretty grim for Rosary after the opening game against Marian Central Catholic.

"We all went back to the huddle after the first set and looked each other in the eye," Rosary libero extraordinaire Martha Konovodoff said. "We all said, 'It's (the season) not going to end that easy.'"

The Royals were an entirely different team in the second set, staving off 5 match points in the first semifinal of the Class 3A Rochelle girls volleyball sectional on Tuesday night.

Rosary would score the final 3 points of the second set to force a decisive third game, but Marian - the Royals' longtime former conference rival - had too much size on the interior for the Royals.

Marian Central ended the Royals' fall campaign with a 25-10, 29-31, 25-15 victory in Rochelle.

Rosary had its season close at 21-18; Marian (24-14) will meet upstart Dixon (15-19) for the championship Thursday.

"It was definitely the nerves," Rosary coach Rachel Hartmann said of the Royals' disastrous start in which Marian repeatedly feasted on unforced errors. "But (the nervous energy) also showed the fight that they have."

Rosary would have been two-and-done had it not been for the remarkable play of Konovodoff.

The sophomore was all over the court, trying to neutralize the Hurricanes' formidable hitters in the front row.

Konovodoff had an astonishing 29 digs - including several indescribable one-handed efforts while diving to the floor - for the match.

"She was incredible," Hartmann said of her prized underclassman. "She kept us in the match, especially in the second game."

The Royals' collective efforts in the second game were a defining moment.

Marian had 5 match points after reversing a 21-16 deficit.

But Rosary had an answer every time.

Molly Curley had a pair of kills and Joanna Wedge added another as part of the Royals' scrambling offense.

"I was so proud that we kept getting it back," said Curley.

Sophomore Erin Burke and Meegan Hart had kills to cap the Royals' second-set overtime victory.

But Marian scored 17 of the first 24 points of the third set to win comfortably in the rubber game.

"Even though we lost (the second set), we still felt good," said Marian sophomore Rachel Giustino, who had a match-high 11 kills. "We felt strong going into the third game."

Rosary was also without the services of middle blocker Michaela Ping, who missed the match due to illness.

Burke led the Royals with 10 kills; Hart added five more.

Brooklyn Martner ran the Royals' offense with 12 assists.

Ping, Grace Konovodoff, Wedge and Domenique Voelsch had their Rosary volleyball careers end with the hard-fought three-set loss.

"The nerves came back in the pressure situations," Hartmann said.