Girls volleyball: Montini ousts Harvest Christian in sectional semifinals

Harvest Christian knew that Montini presented a challenge in the semifinals of the Class 2A Genoa-Kingston sectional.

Not only does Montini have a larger enrollment, but with three starters at least 5-feet-11, the Broncos had a size advantage on the court as well.

The Lions gave it their best shot, leading through most of the first set, but Montini eventually prevailed, 25-22, 25-19.

The Broncos (27-11) will face Rockford Lutheran, which beat Rock Falls in the first semifinal, in Wednesday's 6 p.m. title match.

Paige Pickering with 7 kills and Madalyn Kasallis with 6 led the way for Montini. Their blocking up the middle gave the Broncos another big edge.

"After we were down in the first set, it just felt really good to go out there and put the ball down and finish our game," said Kasallis. "We've been talking for the past few weeks about how we need to be mentally strong and focused. I think we just went out there, we knew what we wanted to do, especially after last year. We want to go to state and win state."

Harvest (26-11) led the first set 20-19 after a kill by Maya Jenkins, but Montini closed on a 6-2 run to put it away. A kill by Pickering, a monster hit by Kasallis, and another by Julia Marciniak closed the set out.

The Broncos carried that momentum over into the second set, racing out to a 6-1 lead. Harvest battled back, tying the score at 12 and 13. The Lions trailed just 17-15 after another Jenkins kill. But they could get no closer and the Broncos slowly pulled away.

"It's frustrating with our sectional history," said Harvest Christian coach Mike Bui of the school's eight straight sectional title streak that ended Monday. "We play these bigger schools and we fell short a little bit. We had a game plan; come out and just serve rockets from the back end line. And we did. We did a good job serving. In the end, they were just that much of a better team than we are. It's unfortunate we play them in our sectional, but it is what it is."

Hayley Martin led the Lions with 13 kills. Jenkins added 12 kills and also had 9 digs. Zoe Pawelek led the defense with 15 digs while Madison Pfister had 13. Setter Dana Mestey dished out 26 assists.

Marciniak added 4 kills for Montini. Pickering also led the defense with 8 digs.