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Take-charge effort keeps Palatine out front in West

Palatine's girls volleyball team started out in the back seat in Set 2, trailing 9-3.

But by the time it was over, the Pirates were in the driver's seat - not only in the match, but in the Mid-Suburban West as well.

First-place Palatine (17-8, 7-0) pulled out a hard-fought 27-25, 25-23 victory at Schaumburg (13-7, 5-2) on Tuesday night to take a two-match lead over the Saxons with three to play in the MSL West.

"It feels great," said Pirates middle blocker Heather Holz, who put down 6 kills and 2 blocks. "Because it's my senior year and this is the best season we've had in my three years on the team."

Making it even more special for Heather it that her sister Haley, a freshman, is also on the team.

Haley added 4 kills while junior teammate Claire Chaplinsky put down a match-high 9.

"I love being out there with my sister," said Heather, who at 6-foot-1 is about a half inch shorter than Haley. "I can trust her to put down the kills or make the block."

The Pirates showed plenty of trust in each other as they battled back from the 9-3 deficit.

"Our passing toward the end of the set was phenomenal," Heather Holz added. "That's why we started to get so many kills.

"When we got the fourth point (Sarah Udoni's kill on a slide set from Sydney Christiansen), we just began to click. Our energy and intensity and everything just picked up."

The set was tied on every point from 13 to 21 where Palatine got the lead for good.

Heather Holz' kill made it 22-21 and she added a block for a 23-21 lead.

After a Schaumburg timeout, the Saxons got to within a point when Jessica Hartzman (11 assists) set Abbie Rahn for a tip kill.

But a quick set from Christiansen (22 assists, 2 kills, 2 aces) to Heather Holz for a kill made it match point before Chaplinsky ended it with her ninth kill.

"We were right there," said Schaumburg coach Jeanette Pancratz. "Palatine did an outstanding job executing when the set got to 20. At crunchtime, they executed."

"It was two teams kind of refusing to budge," said Palatine coach Dan Gavin. "It was great side out volleyball. Schaumburg did a great job picking up our attacks, getting sideouts and putting pressure on us."

The Saxons were led by Rahn and Morgan Sterrett (2 blocks), who each had 6 kills while Mallory Gerber and Christina Candotti (3 blocks, 10 assists, 7 digs, 2 aces) added four apiece.

Julia Spitelli added a pair of kills. Lexi Ross led the Saxons with 4 blocks and libero Lauren LaVigne had 12 digs.

Senior defensive specialist Alexis Serna gave the Pirates a fast start in Set 1.

She served the match's first 5 points, including kills by Chaplinsky and Heather Holz.

The Pirates gained an 8-3 lead when Udoni blocked an overpass.

Schaumburg battled back and tied the set at 17-17. It was knotted at 23, 24 and 25 before Palatine won with Chaplinsky's smash off a block and Heather Holz' ace.

Alyssa Kornberg sparked the Pirates' back row with 13 digs followed by Chaplinsky (7) and Serna (3).

Junior Ally Foltman was 9-of-9 serving for Palatine while Brooke Bauer had a block.

"Our focus is practice (today)," Gavin said. "We did some nice things this match but there are a lot of things we have to work on and we have to get better quickly."

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