Cary-Grove nails down the crown at Prairie Ridge
What a difference a week makes.
After a disappointing fifth-place finish at last Saturday's Jacobs Invitational, Cary-Grove's girls volleyball team bounced back to win Saturday's Prairie Ridge Invitational without losing a game while posting a perfect 5-0 record.
It is the first time since 2011 the Trojans have won the tournament, and it's the final PR tournament as changes in the Fox Valley Conference schedule next year limit the number of tournaments the host Wolves can play in.
"It has been awhile since we have won the tournament," said Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis. "There are so many good teams. It is nice to play well and win this tournament."
Winning the first 4 matches, the Trojans (11-1) finished off the day with a 25-18, 25-17 win over Barrington.
Cary-Grove, which didn't trail in Game 1, took a 1-0 lead in the match after a kill by Ali Splitt. In Game 2, Cary-Grove broke a 12-12 tie with 9 straight points to take a 21-12 advantage. Erin Olson, Sarah Graham and Mandy Katchen led the 9-0 surge.
A kill by Katchen gave the Trojans the match and the tourney title.
Katchen and Splitt led the Trojans with 6 kills apiece. Delaney Bayer collected 14 digs with 3 aces.
"I love doing the dirty work," said Bayer. "Anything to help the team win. We were disappointed we didn't get a chance to play in the championship round at Jacobs last weekend. We have incredible talent on this team."
Barrington (4-10), which went 0-5 for the day, was led in the loss to Cary-Grove by Gabrielle Morris with 6 kills.
"We have played great teams the last two weekends and have held our own and competed," said Barrington coach Michelle Jakubowski. "We are getting better every match and we are really improving defensively."
Crystal Lake Central, which lost only to Cary-Grove, placed second with a 4-1 mark while host PR placed third with a 3-2 record.
St. Charles East and Batavia battled for fourth place.
The Saints (11-3), who beat Batavia (6-9) earlier in the week, knocked off the Bulldogs again 25-19, 25-18.
East, playing without middle blocker Riley Schumacher, was led by Avery Macklin with 6 kills.
"We had a tough start losing the first two matches," said St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull. "We refocused and ended the day on a good note."
Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne was impressed with the talented field at PR.
"All these teams have won a state championship or at least been in the state finals," said Trippi-Payne. "Playing these types of teams will help."
Maddy Astling and Sydney Cavanaugh each had 20 kills to lead Batavia for the day.