Girls volleyball: Elite Eight for Crystal Lake South
The greatest players step up their game at the most important times, which is what Crystal Lake South's Carly Nolan did Thursday night.
In her final match on her home court, the senior outside hitter dominated the Class 4A CL South girls volleyball sectional final. The Cincinnati-bound Nolan mostly spiked but sometimes tipped her way to a season-high 14 kills to lead the Gators past rival Cary-Grove 26-24, 25-22.
"She had the hot hand tonight," said CL South setter Cassy Sivesind, who finished with 25 assists. "There was nothing that could stop her."
"Cassy does a great job of spreading it out, keeping them on their toes," Nolan said. "I think she went to all the girls on our team evenly and then when we needed a point, I was there to put it down."
The sectional title was the second in as many years for CL South (32-7), which finished fourth in Class 4A last season.
"I could get used to it, that's for sure," coach Jorie Fontana said. "It's a gritty win for us as far as all the girls kind of pulling together. They have the goal of where they want to be come next weekend. They don't let themselves get down. We were up by a lot, we were down by a few and you saw the same face, the same heart, the same intensity and the same focus of getting to the supersectional and, hopefully, to state."
The Gators advance to the Fremd supersectional on Saturday at 2 p.m. The opponent will be Libertyville (33-6), which won the Glenbrook North sectional by defeating Carmel 25-18, 25-16. CL South defeated Libertyville in a 3-set nonconference meeting in September.
For Cary-Grove (30-8), which sought its first sectional title since 2011, the defeat was a heartbreaker. The Trojans rallied in the first set from a 19-14 deficit to pull within 21-20 on one of senior Abby Schebel's team-high 8 kills from the set of junior Erin Olson (20 assists).
Trojans junior Allie Splitt later denied the Gators on set point with a kill that knotted the score at 24. However, the Trojans sent their next spike wide, which gave a sideout to the Gators. Nolan then stepped to the service line and delivered her only ace of the match to put her team ahead 1-0.
The second set was tied 9-9 until middle Emma Burkle staked CL South to the lead with a block for a kill. Nolan soon made it 12-9 with a spike to the floor so powerful it drew a gasp from the crowd.
The Trojans stayed within striking distance but could never come within 2 points of the Gators the rest of the match, thanks in large part to Nolan, who finished off Cary-Grove with 4 more kills before it was over.
"It was the Carly Nolan show," Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis said. "She put that team on her shoulders and we didn't have an answer. That's the best I've seen her play against us all season. The bigger the match, she rose to a whole other level.
"That's fantastic for her and Crystal Lake South, but it's a shame because we did work so hard and we were so focused on this match. There's not much you can do when a player decides to play at another level that you can't control."
Rutgers recruit Bree Coffey finished with 16 digs in her final high school match for the Trojans.
Senior libero Tori Falbo had 16 digs for the Gators.