Girls volleyball: Powerful Minooka blows past St. Charles North
NORMAL - A year ago, St. Charles North's girls volleyball season ended with a loss in the first round of regionals.
Minooka's season ended with a loss in the Class 4A state championship game.
The two schools met Friday night in the Class 4A semifinals at Redbird Arena, and that state experience for the Indians - along with their quartet of talented Division I players - were too much for St. Charles North to overcome.
The North Stars fought in the opening set, digging as many balls as they could to stay within 23-20 late. But Minooka closed out the win with the final two points, then powered past St. Charles North in the second set for a convincing 25-20, 25-12 victory.
The Indians (39-2) will play for the state championship for the second straight year Saturday night against Marist (40-1).
Minooka's size at the net made life difficult for the North Stars, both with one powerful blast after another, and also with their 10 blocks.
"I looked up to hit and I thought I'd have something open and at the last minute they would close it," said North Stars junior Katie Lanz. "They were a very, very good block and we haven't played against a team that had that much height. I think we did a pretty good job adjusting and learning to hit around the block as we went."
St. Charles North (36-4), which will play Crystal Lake Central (32-4) for third place at 7 p.m. Saturday, had to contend with Tennessee-bound Rocky Perinar, Dayton recruit Allison Papesh and Kansas signee Holly Bonde, among others.
Perinar led Minooka with 12 kills and Papesh and Bonde both landed 8. The trio combined for 28 kills and just 6 errors while the North Stars finished with almost as many errors (13) as kills (17).
"They are an extremely talented team," North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said. "Very big. I thought we passed extremely well but we couldn't get around their block. Their block was amazing tonight. They had some great kills too. We tried as hard as we could to get them out of system and I thought when we did we played really well but at the end of the day they are just really talented and well-rounded."
And experienced, which is what Minooka coach Carrie Prosek pointed to.
"Having the experience under our belt was a big help," Prosek said. "Coming out here yesterday to practice we knew what we were doing. We even said this gym doesn't seem as big as it did last year. We know what it's like to come on this court and play as a team."
The North Stars took their only lead of the night at the very beginning when GiGi Crescenzo aced the Indians on the first two points.
"I was just trying to hit my zones and start off the match strong and keep it in honestly," Crescenzo said. "It gave me confidence to keep serving hard throughout the rest of the game."
Minooka quickly answered with 5 straight points including a booming kill by Perinar and a rocket shot from the back row by Papesh.
The Indians gradually built their lead throughout the set, and it stood at 20-12 before the best stretch of the match by the North Stars. Lanz started it with a kill on an assist from Amanda Parker, Crescenzo followed with a kill and moments later C.J. Johnson put a ball down.
When Kelly Jakaitis and Lanz teamed up for a block, the North Stars were within 23-20 and Minooka called time.
"I looked at the score and we were down like nine points and I looked again and it was 23-20," Lanz said. "I thought this is our time, we can do this. It was exciting to be so close to such a good team."
Perinar and Bonde came out of the timeout with back-to-back kills, then the North Stars struggled to start the second set with four hitting errors on the first seven points to fall behind 6-1.
Johnson's ace brought the North Stars within 11-7. They never got closer as the Indians stayed in system, winning 9 of St. Charles North's 12 serves in the set.
Crescenzo (7 kills, 6 digs), Lanz (5 kills, 5 digs, 9 assists), Johnson (4 kills, 5 digs) and Parker (5 assist, 4 digs) led the North Stars. They will try to bounce back Saturday and cap the best season in school history with a win.
"We're super excited to be here and we're trying to cherish every moment we have together," Hawkins said. "So we walked off the floor and said that's an amazing team, we hope to cheer them on to a win now, and we said let's go get third. Because they are hungry. They are not going to be satisfied. They want that third place trophy."