Girls volleyball: Kaneland tops Sycamore for regional crown

Kaneland and Sycamore headed to the third set of the Class 3A Burlington Central regional championship game Thursday having split two regular season matches and split the first two sets.

As evenly matched as the two teams were, the Knights needed a difference-maker while trying to capture the school's first regional title since 2012.

Senior setter Hannah Nauert helped do just that, scoring the first point on a tip kill, and eventually finishing off her 47-assist night with a set to Cameron Wyant on match point for a 25-18, 22-25, 25-18 victory.

"Ever since freshman year we've been working so hard," Nauert said. "The whole season I knew we had the potential to win it. We just gave it our all and we got the outcome we wanted."

Kaneland (32-4), which netted its seventh regional crown and only second in the last 24 years, will play LaSalle-Peru at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Class 3A Freeport sectional.

The Knights will take a 9-game winning streak into that match. Their last loss came to Sycamore (14-21), 25-23, 25-23 - and coach Cynthia Violett noted an important adjustment.

"We just kept trying to pound the ball," Violett said of the last meeting. "They are a good defensive team, they kept picking it up. We just tried to play a little smarter by finding their holes."

Kaneland had its hands full all night with Sycamore senior Cassie Hunt. She put away 9 of her match-high 22 kills in the opening set while Kaneland counted with a balanced attack mostly between Jessica Weber and Katelyn Jablonski.

Weber and Jablonski both had 6 kills in the set; the Knights took control with a 12-3 run breaking from an 8-6 deficit into an 18-11 lead. Alexandria Anderson capped the set with a tip kill.

Sycamore led throughout the second set. The Spartans led 22-14 and 24-18 but needed five game points to shake the pesky Knights.

Wyant and Weber both came up with kills to keep Kaneland alive late and give the Knights a boost heading to the third set.

"We still had that momentum from the end of game two," Violett said. "We played that second set as tough as we could."

Kaneland never trailed in the third set. Sycamore tied the game a final time at 12 on yet another winner by Hunt.

"She did exactly what I thought she would do," Sycamore coach Jennifer Charles said. "She was going to lead and put this team on her back. She's a very competitive person."

Jablonski came right back with a kill out of the back row. Weber tipped for a winner, and Kaneland stretched its lead to 20-16 on back-to-back kills by Jablonski. The Spartans never got closer.

"We just went out there with the mentality we weren't going to let anything drop," Nauert said. "We knew we could beat them, and we were out for revenge. We are going to play our game and do what we do best."

Weber led Kaneland with 21 kills and 13 digs, Jablonski had 14 kills and 12 digs, and Jessica Nguyen had 21 digs.