Chargers nab 3rd at Bartlett

After going undefeated in their respective brackets, Oak Park River Forest and Thornwood battled for the Bartlett girls volleyball tournament title Saturday.

The Huskies (12-1) took home the prize defeating Thornwood in a deciding third game that ended with a 25-16 score.

"It feels good," said Huskies coach Don August. "We worked hard for it and I'm very proud of them."

Olivia Wilks had 26 assists to lead the Huskies while Kendal Dirkin led the team with 9 kills.

For the rest of the field, the Bartlett (8-4) varsity squad took fifth place a week after doing the same at the Jacobs tourney, but it was the Hawks' JV team that ruled the day for Bartlett.

The JV team was added late to give the tournament 8 teams, and the Hawks' JV team went 2-1 in bracket play defeating Larkin and West Chicago.

"We knew that if we did as well as we could, we could compete with other varsity teams," said Hawks JV coach Ryan Binder. "We get to practice with the varsity team every day, and they are a very good team."

However, Dundee Crown spoiled the JV team's chance at a third-place finish.

The Chargers finished bracket play with two decisive victories, 25-8 and 25-13 against Shepard, and 25-21 and 25-14 against the Bartlett varsity squad before taking third place in a 25-14 and 25-8 game.

D-C's only loss of the day came in its opener versus Oak Park River Forest via a 25-23, 27-25 conclusion.

Amanda Lutzow (28 kills, 43 digs) and Stephanie Thorsen (10 kills, 20 digs, 6 aces) were among the Chargers' leaders. Kathleen Collingbourne bashed out 27 kills while racking up 18 aces.

"We started out slow, but picked it up throughout the day which was great," said D-C coach Tracy Williams.

"Any day we go 3-1 is a good day."

For the Hawks' varsity team, they were a little sluggish early on barely squeaking out their opening game 25-15, 25-20 against Shepard while a lack of communication hurt in their final two bracket games.

But the Hawks finally showed signs of life in the fifth-place game, defeating Larkin 25-12 and 25-10.

"The difference between when we're excited and when we're not is amazing," said Hawks coach Jill Bergmann. "It was good to at least see them have fun in that final match."

Megan Mangahas had 26 assists for the Hawks in the fifth-place game while Carly Sahagian led the team with 9 kills.

For Larkin (1-6), the Royals did get their first victory of the season early in the tournament as they defeated West Chicago 25-22 and 25-20.

"We can always do better," said Royals coach Gail Johnson. "We just need to work on the basic concepts a bit more."

Girls Volleyball

At DeKalb Invite: A still undefeated Hampshire (12-0) took on West Carroll in game one of the tournament and won with a score of 25-21, 25-23.

In round two Hampshire was matched up against Plainfield South and came out with the second victory of the day defeating Plainfield South 25-15, 25-14. The Whip Purs then faced McHenry and once again came out on top 25-19, 25-8. In championship play the Whip Purs faced DeKalb and challenged them to a 25-16, 25-16 score in favor of Hampshire.

Amy Wehrs led the Whip Purs with 45 kills, while teammate Jenna Karkos contributed 34 kills on the day. Kara Wehrs collected 81 assists. Jen Kondrat kept busy on defense with 72 digs total and Amber Ladwig had 8 blocks and 8 aces to lead Hampshire to first place.

"It was a great tournament and the girls have been playing extremely well," said Whips coach Karen Whitehouse. "Amber Ladwig played outstanding today and it was nice to see us come out here and win"

Elgin (3-8) had a solid day going 2-2 with wins over Hinckley-Big Rock (26-24, 25-21) and Otawa Marquette (22-25, 25-21, 25-23). The Maroons lost two in between to DeKalb (25-19, 25-15) and West Carroll (28-26, 11-25, 25-23).

Kendall Martin was the Elgin star averaging 9 kills per match.

"The girls finally played with the intensity that we have been looking for," said Elgin coach Keith Foster. "That intensity was a real difference maker for us."

Crossroads Classic: St. Edward went just 1-4 over the weekend at the Crossroads Classic in Effingham.

On Friday, the Green Wave defeated Warrensburg-Latham 26-24, 25-21 before losing to Center Grove (Ind.) 25-22, 24-19.

Saturday, St. Edward (3-5) lost all three of its games, falling to Hermann (Mo.) 25-21, 19-25, 15-25; West Prairie 25-23, 25-19; and to Newton 25-20, 25-20.

Kristen Haggenjos had 35 digs and 30 kills for the weekend for the Green Wave while Katie Yohn added 20 blocks, 33 kills and 33 assists. Margie Haggenjos had 27 digs, Tess Barry had 15 blocks and 13 kills, Molly Kelly added 13 blocks, Taylor Barone had 19 kills and Stephanie Kunold dished out 23 assists for the Wave.

"I definitely know what we need to work on and we need some better team chemistry," said St. Edward coach Jaime Walton. "We're gaining some really good experience and I think we'll be fine by the end of the year."

St. Francis, which visits St. Edward on Wednesday, won the tournament going 5-0. The Spartans, the top ranked team in the Daily Herald Top 20 and the defending Class AA stae champions, are now 14-0 for the season.

Boys soccer

Huntley 3, Harvard 0: Huntley (3-4,0-1) added another win to its record defeating Harvard 3-0 in nonconference play. Chris Hagan scored the first Huntley goal assisted by Jesus Alejos. Fedya Larkin had a goal assisted by Nico Carbonara. Carbonara (Adrian Alejos assist). Kevin Montelongo was in the net for the Red Raiders and collected 5 saves.

Glenbard North 3, South Elgin 0: South Elgin (3-3) fell to Glenbard North in this nonconference match-up. The Storm's Luis Abonce was in goal and collected 12 saves.

Hononegah 2, Burlington Central 1: Burlington Central (3-3-1) fell to Hononegah in nonconference play. Enrique Alvarado scored the only Rocket goal, assisted by Michael McCurdy. Kyle DeRaedt collected 8 saves in the goal.

Hampshire 2, Westminster Christian 2: Hampshire and Westminster Christian (2-4-1) settled at a tie. Tyler Beachler scored the first of the two goals for Westminster Christian. J.J. Marshall also scored and was assisted by Pierce McKenna. Ethan Flickinger was in goal for Westminster Christian and collected 6 saves.

Junior Makinde and Shay Hauck scored for Hampshire (6-1-2). Dustin Sundquist had an assist for the Whip-Purs. Cameron Rath was in goal and made 11 saves.

CL South 3, Glenbrook South 1: Crystal Lake South (5-2-1) scored three times in the second half to win this nonconference match. Jordan Innis tallied the hat trick assisted twice by Matt Zaluckyj. In goal, Zach Dalzell recorded 9 saves.

Andrew 1, Larkin 0: Unable to finish, Larkin (4-2) came up short against Andrew at the Pepsi Soccer Showdown. Raziel Samarriba defended the Royal net blocking 3 shots on goal.

Dundee-Crown 3, Hersey 0: With 2 goals from Christian Meza, Dundee-Crown (3-3-1) earned this nonconference shutout over Hersey. Emil Nicoara scored the final goal off of a Meza assist. Preserving the shutout with 10 saves was Mike Zozokos.

Cary-Grove 3, Grayslake Central 0: The Trojans (8-0) came ready to play and battled a tough game while managing to come out on top with a 3-0 victory over Grayslake Central. Cary-Grove's Calvin Brown scored the first goal on an assist from Andy Roberts. In the second half John Oberleis scored the second goal on an assist from teammate Phil Hansen. The Trojans' last goal was scored off a penalty kick by Keenan Walsh. In goal for the Trojans was Walsh, who collected 3 saves.

Streamwood 1, Fenwick 0: Streamwood ( 3-6-1) was able to defeat Fenwick 1-0 at the Pepsi Showdown. Brian Magana scored the Sabres' only goal and was assisted by Juan Ortiz. Ivan Arce was in goal for Streamwood and colllected 4 saves.

Girls swimming

Elgin/Larkin co-op fourth at Hoffman Estates Invite: With 77 points, the Elgin/Larkin coop finished fourth overall among six teams competing in the Hoffman Estates Invitational.

Sisters Haley and Hilary Ottaviano led the team combining for two firsts, a second and a third place.

Hilary won both the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly with times of 28.95 and 1:09.16 respectively. Haley took second in the 100 freestyle at 1:07.58 and third in the 200 IM at 2:46. Lauren Sprague won the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:32.60 and Kristen Jaciw won the 50 freestyle, her designated heat with a time of 32:65. Karen Krieb of the coop added a second place finish in the 100 freestyle with a time of 1:13.38.

Girls tennis

At Fremd Invitational: Both Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South had athletes occupy a number of the leading slots in the Fremd Invitational.

For Prairie Ridge, Allison Murphy finished second overall at No. 1 singles, while No. 2 singles Carolyn Huerth won the championship title.

In doubles play, the Wolves had firsts from Jackie Schwartz/Julie Schwart at No. 1 doubles and Emily Murphy/Laura Curran at No. 2 doubles.

Crystal Lake South's Jennifer Maruyama finished third at No. 1 singles and Stephanie Brunetti earned the Gators a second place finish at No. 2 singles. Doubles action rendered a second place finish from No. 2 doubles Kaitlin Voss/Amy Ross, while Laura Roesslein/Liana Semchuck took third at No. 1 doubles.

College volleyball

ECC wins COD Invite: The Elgin Community College women's volleyball team won the College of DuPage Invitational Saturday, going 4-1 on the day.

The Spartans beat Blackhawk East 30-15, 30-26 and Concordia's JV 30-14, 30-28 in pool play before falling to Oakton 30-27, 30-21.

In the semifinals, the Spartans downed Harper 30-22, 30-23 and then they got some revenge on Oakton by beating it 23-30, 30-22, 15-13 for the championship.

Jaclyn Brannon led the Spartans with 52 kills and 16 aces while Ilse Belmonte and Heather Kenney each had 36 kills. Staci Holthus contributed 51 digs for ECC (7-3) and Kristin Kramer dished out 113 assists on the day.

"It was a very good day and I think we're turning the program around at ECC," said second-year Spartans' coach Andy Jaszczurowski.