Girls volleyball: St. Charles East, Geneva to meet for regional crown
Ever since losing to St. Charles East in a 3-set match during the regular season the Geneva girls volleyball team couldn't wait for another chance at redemption.
The Vikings will get their shot on Thursday in the Class 4A regional title game at East after knocking off South Elgin 25-21, 25-18 in the semifinals on Tuesday. The No. 2 seed Saints cruised to a 25-9, 25-10 win over Elgin.
The Vikings had their hands full in both games against South Elgin. Game 1 was tied a little over midway through 16-16 and Geneva trailed 13-11 at one point in Game 2. However, both times the Vikings were able to finish strong to pull out the wins.
"A win is a win, but it was a lot closer than what I would have liked," Geneva coach Annie Seitelman said. "South Elgin is a good team and credit to them for doing a good job of frustrating our hitters with their defense. We were in and out of system all match. But every time we got out we were able to bounce back. We had enough good moments to get us through."
Molly Lambillotte with 10 kills and Danielle Thompson with 9 kills were a big part of those moments that Seitelman was referencing. Thompson had a kill to give the Vikings the lead 17-16 in Game 1 and Lambillotte had 3 kills down the stretch in Game 1 to help seal the win.
In Game 2 it was Lambillotte who helped give the Vikings a 16-13 lead with 3 kills during a pivotal 5-0 run. Thompson then added 3 kills during a 9-3 run to close out the match.
"We were having some communication problems and they got in our heads a little because they were playing really good defense," Thompson said. "We just did a good job of staying aggressive. We are super excited about being able to play East again."
Anna Loberg had 13 assists to lead Geneva. Piper Drazek added 11 assists. Payton Bellano had a team-high 9 digs.
Despite the loss the Storm enjoyed their best season ever with a school record 26 wins, 3 first place tournament finishes, and a second place in the Upstate Valley Division.
"There is a lot to be proud of," South Elgin coach Joni Plach said. "It was a really fun season. We just ran into a tough team tonight. We haven't faced a hard serving team like that in a while and we just had a difficult time running our middles against them."
Hayley Fisher had 6 kills to lead South Elgin. Libby Vedrine added 5 kills. Casey Swanson had 6 assists and 6 digs.
The Saints improved to 29-7 with their win. Kyra Slavik had a team-high 7 kills for East. Mackenna Slavik had 5 kills and 17 assists.
"One down and on to the next one," East coach Jennie Kull said. "That's all we are concerned with at this point. We came out a little sluggish today but eventually got it clicking. We were able to get everyone in and that was a bonus for us."