Girls volleyball: St. Charles North, Huntley take No. 1 seeds into postseason
By just a couple students, Kaneland's increased enrollment this year has moved its volleyball team to the Class 4A tournament for the first time, starting Oct. 23 against Larkin.
The Knights have enjoyed plenty of success lately in Class 3A, including just last year when they defeated Sycamore to win a regional title and then LaSalle-Peru in the sectional semifinals before losing to Sterling in the sectional championship.
If Kaneland (19-7) wants to make a similar postseason run this year, it's going to have to go through some powerful 4A schools.
At least the Knights get to do it on their home court. They host a 4A regional and are the No. 6 seed, first playing No. 11 Larkin before a date, if they advance, with one of those powers - No. 1 St. Charles North (25-3).
"The difference for us now that we're 4A is the depth of talent we'll be facing compared to our smaller school, so staying healthy and injury free will be huge," said Kaneland coach Cynthia Violett, whose team is led by Sheika Mushunduzi and Katie Jablonski.
The North Stars, the Upstate Eight River Conference champions, are an experienced team featuring Abby Graham, Lauren Caprini, Katie Lanz, Gigi Crescenzo, CJ Johnson and Amanda Parker.
"Definitely happy about our No. 1 seed," North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said. "I think the girls have worked really hard for that this season, so they deserve it. I think our sectional is interesting - especially given that they broke it into two subsectionals. I definitely think it will be a competitive regional for us. Both DeKalb and Kaneland have strong teams, as does Batavia."
DeKalb, the fourth seed, plays No. 5 Batavia with the winner meeting possibly St. Charles North for the title.
"I think that no matter where we are seeded or what sectional or subsectional we would have been sent to, it would be the same no matter what," Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. "Just about every team in this area can beat anyone. So, the playoffs are all about who is on top of their game and is ready to compete every night as hard as they can at a high level."
The Bulldogs, led by Jenna Garrett and Sam Juarez, hope they are that team peaking at the right time.
"The key for us will be how well we can put things together as a team," Trippi-Payne said. "We have to believe in ourselves and our abilities. There are many teams in our subsectional who can win it. There really aren't going to be any easy matches for any of us."
The Kaneland regional winner advances to the DeKalb sectional. The Hampshire and St. Charles East regionals also feed into the DeKalb sectional.
Huntley, who just won its own tournament Saturday and the 300th game in the career of coach Karen Naymola, opens at Hampshire against a familiar Fox Valley Conference foe, either No. 7 Dundee-Crown or No. 8 Jacobs.
"We are very excited about the postseason," Naymola said. "I feel like the girls are playing some of their best volleyball. We obviously have some things we want to work on and prepare for the postseason, but they have a lot of confidence going in and are playing very well right now."
Sophomore setter Taylor Jakubowski leads the FVC in assists and is among the leaders in digs. Huntley has a young but talented squad, with right-side Aleah Amelio the only senior starter.
Other players to watch include outside Julia Johnson, libero Sarah Zayas and middle Loren Alberts.
"We know we can't look past any teams and every game we need to focus on that match," Naymola said. "It's postseason and when that begins it doesn't matter if you won every conference game or lost every conference game. Every team is 0-0 and your season begins now."
Jennie Kull's Saints, who have future Division I players like Kyra and McKenna Slavik (Ohio and Clemson, respectively), plus Klaudia Sowizral (UConn) and UNC-Asheville-bound Hannah Spicer and Anna Skryd, start against the Elgin/Bartlett winner.
"The schedule is different than it ever has been," Kull said. "We have not had a subsectional since I have been coaching here. We don't have the Catholic schools in our sectional like we have before. However, our sectional is difficult. During playoff time, anything can happen. You cannot take anyone lightly. We just have to be ready to compete."
No. 3 Geneva, with powerful outside hitter Molly Lambillotte and returning All-Area libero Payton Bellano, could await the Saints in the regional finals if the Vikings get past the winner of No. 7 South Elgin and No. 10 Streamwood.
South Elgin has enjoyed a breakthrough season with an 18-7 record, 4-1 in the Upstate Eight Valley, good for second, their best conference finish. The Storm won the Prospect and Hampshire tournaments, their first tournament titles.
Senior middle Elizabeth Vedrine has 143 kills with only 20 errors and a .436 hitting percentage. She had 12 kills against West Aurora and 14 kills against Harvest Christian.
"Big reason we have 18 wins," South Elgin coach Joni Plach said. "One of the best middles in the area."
The Storm also relies on a pair of four-year varsity starters, Casie Swanson and Sarah Murray.
"I am excited for the postseason," Plach said. "We are having our best season in the 13 years we have been open. We are having a lot of firsts this season. Right now if we play our best volleyball a lot of good things can happen in the postseason."
West Aurora is the No. 13 seed in the Metea Valley regional and has a play-in game with No. 20 Romeoville; a win would give the Blackhawks a chance to surprise fourth-seed Naperville North. Earlier this season West Aurora took Naperville North to 3 sets and came within 2 points of winning.
The Blackhawks (15-13) have played a challenging schedule and are coming off wins over Niles North, Loyola, York and Evanston at the Glenbrook North tournament last weekend. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
"Our sectional has so many extremely talented teams," West Aurora coach Kevin Mortlock said. "We are doing well as of late and are working together as a team more as it gets closer to our final tournament (Autumfest) and the playoffs."
Senior middle Farah Taki has 130 kills, 44 aces and 50 blocks. Libero Abbey Lieser (23 aces), sophomore Kendra Battle (140 kills, 17 blocks) and freshman Chloey Myers (31 aces, 103 kills) are key players for the Blackhawks.
"I think we will have a good opportunity to compete especially in our regional as Romeoville and Naperville North are certainly teams that we can match up well against," Mortlock said. "Both teams are well-coached and are very competitive."
Class 3A: While Kaneland is no longer in 3A, Rosary - a sectional champion last year - and Burlington Central both are. And the Royals and Rockets open the postseason playing each other Oct. 24 in the Sandwich regional semifinals.
If Burlington Central (18-10) can win that regional, which could include a finale against No. 2 Sandwich, the Rockets will return home for the Burlington Central sectional.
Other regional favorites that feed into the Burlington Central sectional are Antioch, Johnsburg and St. Viator - the later could face Aurora Central Catholic in the Sycamore regional championship.
Class 2A: St. Edward and Harvest Christian both head east and could meet in the Chicago Christ the King sectional if they keep advancing.
St. Edward is the favorite to win the Guerin regional; Harvest Christian is the No. 1 seed at the Willows Academy regional.
Aurora Christian is in a different sectional, hosted by Chicago Christian, but the Eagles also are a team to watch. They are the top seed in the Kankakee McNamara regional.