Dembkowski helps Hersey beat Stevenson in 3 games
It was far from a volleyball clinic Monday when the Hersey girls volleyball team visited Stevenson.
"It wasn't the prettiest match, but we were able to bring it together," Hersey senior outside hitter Lauren Dembkowski said.
Dembkowski had a lot to do with Hersey's 25-19, 22-25, 25-20 victory.
Although she did not serve her best, the senior outside hitter contributed a match-high 13 kills and 16 digs.
Her kill in the third game gave the Huskies a 23-20 advantage.
After an ace by setter Shelly Mueller, another kill by Dembkowski secured the match.
"She came through for us and put a lot of balls away," said Huskies coach Nancy Lill. "This is just a glimpse of what she can do."
Stevenson received a tremendous individual performance from senior middle blocker Margaret Salata.
Salata, who is in her third year on varsity, had 10 kills and 8 blocks, 4 of which were solos.
"This is kind of what we expect from her," said Stevenson coach Tim Crow. "She played great, and Hannah (Burke) did a nice job getting her the ball."
It was a busy evening for Burke.
In addition to contributing 22 assists, she sang the national anthem prior to the start of play.
When the match began, the Huskies (7-3) immediately took control.
They raced to an 8-2 lead before Stevenson (5-5) came back to tie the game at 10-10.
From there, the Huskies cruised to a 25-19 win.
After making 15 unforced errors in the first game, the Patriots played more efficiently and with great emotion in Game 2.
"We were in a slump and we wanted to get out of it," Salata said. "We put forth a lot of effort."
Hersey knew it would be OK in the third game if the Huskies could start delivering the ball to its hitters.
"We had every opportunity to close out the second game," Lill said. "We needed to get the ball to our hitters and let them terminate."
After clinging to a 9-8 lead in Game 3, the Huskies went on a 6-1 run.
Stevenson was unable to get closer than 2 points the rest of the way.
Dembkowski, Katie Lill (7 kills), Ann Carroll (5 kills) and McKenzie Forbes (5 kills) keyed Hersey's attack.
Mueller had 31 assists and 4 aces. Becca Haraf added a match-high 17 digs.
Salata and Mary Kate Fritzsche each had 10 kills for Stevenson.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, they made the same type of mistakes in the third game that plagued them in the first.
"We were making errors at critical times," Crow said. "We took away our own momentum."
Libertyville d. Rolling Meadows: Libertyville (4-1) posted a 25-16, 24-26, 25-13 nonconference win, as the visiting Mustangs (4-6) were led by Jackie Carbery (6 kills) and Dana Demmert (5).
Jenna Milas had 14 digs for Meadows while Kim Liwag and Maria Barry each had 6 assists.
St. Viator d. North Chicago: Cara George and Katherine Julius each had 4 kills to lead visiting St. Viator in a 25-19, 25-13 triumph.
Kelly McConnell, Daniela Presta and Christina Brinkman each had 2 saves for the Lions, while Stephanie Shanahan had 1.
Elk Grove d. Addison Trail:ΠKatie Spychala and Krystina Leazer each had 4 kills to help lead host Elk Grove (5-5) to a 25-22 , 25-22 nonconference victory.
Kelsey Prochenski (7 assist) and Jessica Condon (6) helped direct the Grenadiers' offense, while Spychala and Megan Maize each had 7 digs and Caitlin Garrison added 5.
Maine West d. Deerfield: Maine West's attack was led by Kelsey Hargesheimer (7 kills), Amanda Knipp (4), Amanda Zito (4) and Maria Rozo (3) in a 22-25, 25-12, 25-20 victory in the Central Suburban North.
Liz Freeman served 3 aces, while Mark Kusner and Michelle Obillo each had 2 for the host Warriors (4-5).