St. Charles North wins battle of Upstate Eight champs
In past years the Upstate Eight has ended its season with the champions of the River and Valley divisions playing each other.
That wasn't scheduled this year, but it worked out anyway Tuesday when the River champs St. Charles North played at Valley winners West Aurora.
While there might not have been anything on the line other than pride and a final tuneup for the postseason, the teams played a highly entertaining, very competitive match that the North Stars won 25-23, 25-23 on West Aurora's Senior Night.
"It was pretty intense," St. Charles North senior outside Daley Krage said. "They had a good fan section and it was pretty close the whole time. It was definitely fun to play in. They definitely pushed us. We battled through it."
Krage put away the final kill of the night, a blast down the line, her match-high 15th.
"I knew I was going to get a good pass and a good set so I had a good shot at it," the Northwestern-recruit said. "They had been giving us line all night so I just swung away."
West Aurora (23-11) knocked off St. Charles East last weekend, and the Blackhawks did all they could to complete a St. Charles sweep. The Blackhawks took their first lead at 8-7 on an ace by Natalie Jones.
Jordyn Poppen had 4 kills in the opening set and Sidney Fedor added 3 as West Aurora gradually extended its lead. Elizabeth Wiet slammed back a bad pass by St. Charles North (32-3), and the Blackhawks had a 22-18 lead closing in on the set.
But the North Stars answered with a 7-1 surge to end the set. Krage delivered a pair of kills and Abby Graham added another for a 23-22 St. Charles North lead.
A stuff block by Kayla Battle tied the score at 23. West Aurora thought it had a winner off a North Stars block, but it was ruled the shot by West Aurora never got over the top of the net. Jaclyn Taylor ended the set on the next point with a kill.
"Couple points here or there," West Aurora coach Kevin Mortlock said. "I've been telling the girls if you get a chance, swing away. I thought they did."
The North Stars led most of the second set, though the Blackhawks never fell behind by more than 4 points. There were several long rallies with excellent plays from both teams, including a rocket jump serve from Poppen the North Stars dug that led to a spirited rally that Claire Anderson finally ended with one of her 12 kills.
Moments later it was Anderson in the back row with a sprawling, one-arm extended back for an off-balance dig on a point that ended with Krage slamming a kill to make it 24-22.
"Very exciting match. Two very aggressive teams," Mortlock said. "Two teams who play great defense. They took care of the ball when they had to."
Anderson added 8 digs and Krage 6 digs in addition to their 27 kills. Taylor dished out 25 assists, while Sam Lappin and Lauren Caprini each had 5 digs.
"They were a very good defensive team," North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said. "It was good for us going into the playoffs. It was good for us to have to read their defense and find holes and adjust to the stuff they were throwing at us because it was a little unconventional. They kept us on our toes."