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Schaumburg rises to the occasion at Maine East

Schaumburg's first sectional appearance in seven years came down to a third set on Tuesday night in Park Ridge.

And it set up just fine for the Saxons, who realized they had some business to take of following the second set.

"We might have come out a little overconfident (in the second set) because we won the first game kind of decisively," said Saxons senior slugger Oyinkan Akinola. "Then we realized this is a sectional match. There's no tomorrow if you lose. Everyone stepped up and did what they had to do."

Including Akinola, who put down 5 of her match-high 19 kills in the final set, and the Saxons rose to the challenge to pull out a 25-14, 18-25, 25-21 triumph over No. 3 seed Maine East in the Blue Demons' own Class 4A sectional.

The No. 2 Saxons (25-13) advanced to Thursday's 6 p.m. championship and will face top-seeded Loyola (25-9) for the title.

"It's exciting," said senior libero Hannah Moore who collected 17 digs, 18 passes and was 11-of-11 serving. "We've been waiting and working for this all season."

The Saxons worked hard in Set 1, breaking open an 8-8 tie with a 13-3 run that included 3 service points from Moore which made it 19-11.

The Saxons eventually wrapped it up on Akinola's back row kill for a side out.

Maine East coach Anne Bezek watched her team get back in the match when it scored the first 4 points of the second set and never relinquished the lead.

"The girls were really pumped up to play and came out a little anxious in Set 1," Bezek said. "We had about four or five unforced errors in a row and started panicking. I told them they were not going to win by playing 'safe.' I said 'if you want to go to a third set you had to be aggressive and go after it.' "

Schaumburg got to within 5-3 on a kill by Akinola, but the Blue Demons went on a 13-3 tear that included 7 straight service points, including an ace, by Mirando Duro.

East's Kelly Lindberg had 2 kills during the run and teammate Hannah Farley 1.

The Saxons made a little run at the end of the set before Farley put down the winning kill on a quick set from Sarah Hua-Pahm.

"I thought we just let things get in our head," Moore said of the second-set letdown. "We knew we had to come out in the third set playing Schaumburg volleyball against the Blue Demons, not against ourselves."

The Mid-Suburban West champs rose to the occasion.

They took lead for good at 8-7 on Jada Blackwell's block.

The senior setter directed the 5-1 attack, handing out 24 assists while also collecting 3 kills.

One of her 3 block kills ignited 4 straight points, giving the Saxons a 12-7 advantage.

The Blue Demons got to within 1 point three more times before Schaumburg edged ahead by 3 points.

A service error by East and back row kill by Akinola made it 19-16.

Things got interesting when Maine East pulled to within 22-21, thanks to Rachel Mauer's ace and a hitting error by Schaumburg.

Saxons coach Jeanette Pancratz called for a timeout and her team responded by finishing the match with the next 3 points.

"I'm proud of the girls persistence and determination," said Pancratz, who notched career win No. 787. "When you get to this level, anything can happen. We knew they were the No. 3 seed and we were No. 2 so we would have to stay focused.

"Maine East did a good job of staying resilient as we knew they would. They were on their home floor so we were fortunate to come out on top."

Following Akinola on attack were teammates Mallory Gerber (5 kills), Blackwell (3) and Lexi Ross (3), who added 2 blocks.

Among the top Schaumburg servers were Lauren LaVigne (15-16) and Jessica Hartzman (10-of-10) while teammate Megan Hayes contributed a pair of assists.

"It's an honor to be playing in a sectional," said Akinola, who will be playing at Division I Fairfield a year from now. "I have so much confidence in my team. Maine East is really good and put up a great fight. But when we are playing as a team, and with confidence, we feel we can play with anyone."

"What really brought us up was our energy and communication in the third set," Moore added. "We had more hustle and it was the people on our bench always helping us out. They're as important to all of this as the people on the floor."

Maine East completed one of its finest seasons in school history.

Just four years ago, the Blue Demons were 4-28.

"It's amazing," said Farley, a four-year varsity player. "I couldn't ask for a better senior year. My freshman year we won 4 matches so this is pretty amazing. I would have never imagined this."

Maine East won 7 matches two years ago and 17 last year.

"On senior night, the seniors told me they would have never imagined this to be possible four years ago," said Bezek, now in her second season (she also coached East from 2000-2004). "We've been trying to build things up and the seniors leadership was great. They're such wonderful girls."

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