Wauconda comes back to top Wheaton Academy
Upon closer examination, that first set between Wauconda and Wheaton Academy might have been closer than first thought.
The Bulldogs tied up favored Wheaton Academy at 7-7, but that was before this 30-game winner from DuPage County blew the doors off the team from Wauconda. And frankly, it wasn't as close as the 25-18 final score.
So it seemed to be just a matter of time before Wauconda's terrific girls volleyball season would be over.
Instead, Wauconda softball star Kayla Wedl began to hit the volleyball hard. And the blocking of Becky Sidlowski and Haley Meyer began to make a difference.
Wauconda coach Alison Williams calls her players "The Comeback Kids." And that held true as the Bulldogs (27-8) stormed back to end Wheaton Academy's season 18-25, 25-23, 25-21.
Wedl checked in with 7 kills in this thrilling sectional semifinal at Vernon Hills High School on Tuesday night.
"Before the game, I wanted us to get to a sectional final like we did in softball,'' Wedl said.
Wedl admitted her team got off to a slow start.
"It was bad,'' Wedl said. "It was like we woke up from a three-hour nap."
Waking up just in time for set two, the Bulldogs had a pair of blocks from Meyer and opened a 14-9 lead over the Warriors (30-7).
"We've been working hard in practice,'' Meyer said. "We started a little rough but we came back at the end. We've really come along. It's been a really fun season."
Naturally, the gifted Warriors fought back in set two. On back-to-back serving aces from junior setter Alicia Funk, Wauconda's lead was cut to 19-17. However, a key kill from star middle hitter Sara Sexton forced a third set.
"We just came out tight tonight,'' Williams said. "We were nervous and made too many errors. But by the second game, we got back into it."
Suddenly, the momentum of the match had jumped to Wauconda. With libero Ashley Anderson (16 digs) serving, the Wauconda lead jumped to 13-8. Wauconda stars Sexton (6 kills, 2 blocks) and LeAnne Sakowicz (8 kills, 11 assists) checked in with kills.
"We lost our ball control,'' said Wheaton Academy coach D.A. Nichols. "We made a lot of unforced errors. We missed serves. Our defense broke down. I'm a little disappointed, but it was a fun match to watch."
Again, the Warriors came right back at Wauconda. The Bulldogs' lead had shrunk to 19-18 in the decisive third set. In the final stretch, Wauconda clearly outplayed Wheaton. Meyer and Sakowicz both had kills. And when Sexton closed the match off with a kill, the comeback kids had brought a rare sectional win to the volleyball program.
Meyer had 4 blocks for the winners. Jane Sakowicz added 10 digs for the Bulldogs.
Another big challenge lies ahead for Wauconda. The Bulldogs will return to Vernon Hills on Thursday to face powerful St. Francis in the sectional final match. The Spartans ended Johnsburg's season, 25-9, 25-11.