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Girls volleyball: Hersey escapes Meadows; Wheeing stuns Loyola

The long-standing theory that it's hard to be a team three times in season got some more supporting evidence on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Class 4A Highland Park regional.

It was a difficult task, but Mid-Suburban League champion Hersey, which defeated Rolling Meadows twice en route to a divisional title, survived a gutsy effort by the No. 15-seeded Mustangs for a 12-25, 25-18, 25-23 victory.

The No. 2 Huskies (28-8) will face No. 10 Barrington (22-14) on Thursday for the regional championship.

Senior Amy Morgan (12 kills) and sophomore Katie Kaburov (11 kills) led the Huskies in their hard-fought win against coach Joe DiSilvio's resilient group.

"I give Joe and his team so much credit," said Hersey coach Nancy Lill. "They were outstanding and pushed us to the limit. They played a great match. It is really tough to beat a solid team three times in a season. We are happy to be moving on to play Barrington."

Eleanor Errico (11 kills, 2 blocks), Natalie Klancnik (5 kills, 1 block), Elise Kowalski (5 kills) and Natalie Anderson (4 kills, 1 block) led the attack for Meadows (15-22).

Klancnik (18 assists) and Mallory King (11 assists) set the offense while Macie Robinson led the back row with 16 digs.

"It would have been an amazing win for the Mustangs, but if you have to go out in the state tournament, this is the way to do it," DiSilvio said. "The girls gave everything they possibly could to try and pull off the upset. We came up short but I am proud of the effort and determination from these girls."

Other top attackers for Hersey were Hayley Martin (4 kills), Janine Boyan (2 kills), Juliette van den Herik (2 kill) and Alessia Olhava (1 kill), who also handed 10 assists and collected 16 digs. Emma Strozewski collected 18 assists while Julia Coniglio led the back row with 18 digs.

Barrington d. Highland Park: Coach Michelle Jakubowski's No. 10 seeded Fillies (22-14) topped the host and No. 7 seeded Giants 25-21, 21-25, 25-18 at the Highland Park 4A semifinal.

Andi Capel (12 kills, 5 aces, 7 digs) and Bailey Madrzyk (15 kills, 1 ace) led the Barrington attack.

Other top performers were Suzana Andrade de Oliveira (15 digs), Tara Kozak (36 assists), Paige Ramel (6 kills, 1 blocks), Kate Shechtman (5 kills, 2 blocks), Lauran Carder (4 digs) and Peyton Tilly (4 kills).

Wheeling d. Loyola: No. 14 Wheeling hit the 20-win mark and stunned No. 3 Loyola 25-14, 14-25, 25-22 in the semifinal of the Niles North Class 4A regional.

In Thursday's title match, the Wildcats (20-17) will face No. 6 Schaumburg (22-14), which defeated No. 11 Buffalo Grove 18-25, 25-15, 25-20 in the other semifinal.

Leading the attack for Wheeling were Ellie Welter (7 kills), Nicole Nguyen (6 kills), Kamila Staniszewski (5 kills) and Nosa Igiehon (5 kills).

Setter Jessica Janowski handed out 26 kills and served 4 aces. Jazmyn Veloso led the Wildcats with 14 digs followed by Olivia Walker with 10.

St. Viator d. Wheaton Academy: Top-seeded St. Viator topped No. 7 Wheaton Academy 25-16, 25-17 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Sycamore regional.

The Lions (25-11) will meet host Sycamore in Thursday's title match.

Catherine Hickey (14 kills), Kate Nottoli (6 kills) and Kendall Claffey (5 kills) led the Lions' attack set by Michaela Mueller, who had 30 assists and 3 aces.

Carrie Leazer led the back row 18 digs.

Maine East d. Fremd: No. 12 seeded Maine East topped No. 5 Fremd 16-25, 27-25, 26-24 at the Fremd Class 4A regional semifinal. The Vikings, co-champions of the Mid-Suburban West, finished the season at 25-11.

Niles West d. Maine West: No. 4 Niles West defeated No. 13 Maine West 25-189, 25-20 at the Class 4A Fremd regional semifinal. The Warriors, who were co-champion in the CSL North, finished the season at 23-14.

Harper d. Moraine Valley. The Hawks won 25-21 25-18, 25-16 and finished their regular season at 33-5 heading into their regional, which begins at Elgin Community College.

Ellie Burzlaff (13 kills), Breanna Cullen (12) and Sarah Udoni (9) led the attack set by Emily Huprich, who clicked for 45 assists.

Arianna Chelini led with 18 digs followed by Karolina Sas (12) while Sas was also 15-of-16 serving with an ace.

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