CL Central tops Cary-Grove for Jacobs title
The girls volleyball teams from Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake Central won't meet in a Fox Valley Conference crossover match this year. But the two division winners from last year got to see each other in the championship match of the Golden Eagle Invitational tournament at Jacobs on Saturday.
Behind 8 kills from all-tournament selection Carly Hayes, CLC downed the Trojans, 25-17, 25-21 to claim the title.
Central, considered by many to be a Class 3A state title contender this season, was more rested going into the final match. The Tigers easily dispatched Stevenson, 25-16, 25-7, in a semifinal matchup, while the Trojans struggled through a 3-game semifinal before defeating Belvidere, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21.
Stevenson had beaten the Tigers in the Jacobs tournament final the previous 2 years.
Against Cary-Grove, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead in Game 1 and never looked back. Game 2 was close all the way. The Trojans led 1-0 and 4-3, but neither team ever led by more than the final margin.
Central's other all-tournament pick, Kathryn Chrystal, added 4 kills in the final match, as did Rachael Thomquist.
Cary-Grove freshman Kelly Lamberti had 4 kills in the final match. Senior Danielle Smith had 3 and was a sparkplug throughout for the Trojans.
"They're a really seasoned team," said Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis of the Tigers. "They've got a lot of veterans that have been playing together for three years. You really can't make mistakes when you're playing a match with them. But I feel like we're improving every single game."
For the tournament, Smith had 34 kills and 58 digs for the Trojans while Jamie Kuhl contributed 16 blocks and Erin Wahl had 74 digs. Allison Strawman had 7 aces and 34 kills while Abbey Heredia dished out 134 assists on the day as C-G moved to 5-1 for the season.
It was a true team effort for the Tigers (7-0 overall this year), who didn't lose a game during the tournament.
"The thing I liked about the games was I don't know that there were any individual highlights," said Central coach Doug Blundy. "I thought that as a team we played really well together. Everybody I put on the court I felt did a really nice job."
Stevenson (4-3) downed Belvidere, 25-17, 25-18, for third place.
"All the girls played pretty well today," said Stevenson coach Tim Crow. "Different girls stepped up in different matches."
In the final match it was Michelle Fleishman and Mary Kate Fritzsche leading the way.
Bartlett, behind all-tournament selections Carly Sahagian and Emily Hayes, edged the host Golden Eagles for fifth place, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17.
"I've kind of decided that they like to play three games," said Bartlett coach Jill Bergmann of her team. "We have yet to win in two. I think it's one of those mental things that we have to get over."
Rockford Boylan downed Elgin in the seventh-place match.