Girls volleyball: Hersey volleys for another title at Prospect

Fans came together for one important cause on Thursday night and it created another uplifting atmosphere in the Jean Walker Field House at Prospect High School.

The Knights hosted a 'Volley for a Cure' girls volleyball match to support breast cancer awareness and the fine turnout was able to raise more money in addition to the $76,000 over the previous 10 years.

Visiting Hersey continued to show its dominance in the Mid-Suburban League East by clinching its 15th straight title under coach Nancy Lill with a 25-18, 25-12 triumph.

Prior to the match, Prospect attendance office employee Mary Burkhardt, who has battled cancer twice, was recognized as the 'Volley for a Cure Person of Honor.' A moment of silence followed for all survivors and those battling breast cancer.

Raffle tickets to raise money were sold at the front doors and the field house was highlighted with pink balloons and special T-shirts worn by many.

"We really worked together and the energy that this event brought definitely helped us," said Huskies senior outside hitter Amy Morgan, who put down 4 kills, second only to sophomore teammate Kati Kaburov. "We came into this match knowing we needed get the job done to clinch a tie for the title."

Prospect got the job done supporting breast cancer awareness month.

"Prospect knows how to do it," said Hersey coach Nancy Lill, one of the winningest coaches in the state with 936 wins. "Laura (Gerber) is a great coach and the whole school is great as far as what they do fundraising for such a great cause."

Ten years ago, then-girls volleyball coach Mike Riedy and assistant Daria Schaffeld started a team event at Prospect to raise money for breast cancer research.

It has expanded into a schoolwide event with other athletic teams raising money, and middle schools get involved, too. The Knights football team was also on hand Thursday.

"It's a great night for the community," said Gerber, whose mother Mary, a breast cancer survivor, was in attendance. "Hopefully we raised a lot of money for Northwest Community Hospital. The girls put a lot of time and effort into this. We would have liked to have played better but we are happy to make a donation to Northwest.

"It hits home for me with my mother and we've had a couple of players touched by it so it's nice to give back to the people within Mt. Prospect and Arlington Heights and help them with mammograms."

Hersey built an 11-3 lead in Set 1 and 11-4 cushion in Set 2.

The Knights came to within 14-6 in Set 2 on a tip by junior Sloan Petlak but Hersey closed out the match on an 11-6 run getting aces from Morgan and Julia Coniglio along the way.

Colleen Palczynski (3 kills), Emma Cogan (3), Grace Cacini (2) and Meghan Meredith (2) led the attack for Prospect (6-15, 3-5).

Meredith also had 4 digs and 3 blocks while sophomore setter Casey Acosta handed out 9 assists. Libero Val Thomas collected 13 digs and Caitlin Castro had 4.

"It's tough to lose in front of so many people but it's really a big night and I think it turned out real well," Petlak said. "We raised a lot of money."

Hersey raised its record to 17-6 and 8-0 in the MSL East with two to play.

Janine Boyan (3 blocks), Juliette Vandenherik and Haylee Martin each chipped in 2 kills for the visitors while Alessia Olhava (7 assists) and Emma Strozewski (6 assists) set the attack.

Morgan led the back row with 14 digs followed by Kaburov (8) and libero Molly Twohig (7).

"This was a huge win," Lill said. "Our girls really wanted this. You can never overlook Prospect (Knights gave Huskies one of their 2 conference losses last season). They battled really hard the first set and we ran a away a little in the second but I know they're a young team, too."

"Honestly, with the hard work we put in, we expect to do it (win division) every year," Morgan added. "I'm really proud of my team."

A team that will try to complete an undefeated East season next week with matches against Rolling Meadows and Elk Grove.

"This was such a cool night," Lill said. "It was a neat atmosphere and hopefully we'll do it again next year with them. I'd love to."