Girls volleyball: Geneva answers Plainfield North's challenge

A No. 3 vs. No. 13 matchup to the start the postseason usually isn't as close as Geneva's 22-25, 25-15, 25-17 come-from-behind win over Plainfield North Tuesday night in the Class 4A Plainfield North regional semifinals.

Then again, sectionals usually aren't as loaded as this year's East Aurora field.

Geneva was pushed from the start by the Tigers (22-16) and Northwestern-bound outside hitter Allie Lindroth, who connected on 7 of her 12 kills in the first set.

The Vikings stayed collected, and they served Plainfield North tougher in the final 2 sets. The Tigers had trouble staying in system and totaled just 10 kills in the last 2 sets after clicking for 17 in the opener.

"It was just a game of momentum," Geneva setter Mikayla Lanasa said. "We just had the mental toughness to come back and win that second game. We just stayed really tough and really aggressive and we won."

The Vikings (33-3) did just that and will play No. 6 Naperville North for the regional title at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Geneva didn't get tight after losing the first set. Lanasa took turns setting Ally Barrett, Grace Loberg and Kyley Thompson while finding Ally Mullen in the middle for 4 big kills in the deciding third set.

"I thought they demonstrated a nice focus and discipline and never let that frazzle them or get them nervous," said Geneva coach Annie Seitelman, who recently returned from maternity leave. "They still came in and played confident in the second and third set."

Payton Bellano served 3 aces in the second set, and Loberg and Thompson both had 2.

Loberg again was in the middle of a long service run in the third set with 2 more aces as Geneva stretched a 10-9 lead to 15-9.

The Tigers got as close as 17-15 before the Vikings ended the match on an 8-2 run, sealing it on Loberg's blast, her 14th kill.

"Even when they came back within 2 I thought our kids did a nice job of staying composed and flipping the momentum and us getting on another run," Seitelman said.

"It was a great match," Tigers coach Tracey Marshall said. "Defensively we were a little behind. If we picked up a couple of those balls I think it would have been a little different. But aside from that we're a very young team, a majority of those players are sophomores, so it will look different next year."