Cary-Grove takes 3rd place at McAuley
By going 4-1 overall at the Mother McAuley Invitational Saturday, the Cary-Grove girls volleyball team earned third-place honors.
En route to the finish, the Trojans defeated Queen of Peace (26-18, 25-12), Belleville East (25-10, 25-17) and Mt. Assisi 25-21, 25-14 before enduring their only loss which came against host Mother McAuley (JV) via a 25-12, 25-22 conclusion.
Despite the loss, Cary-Grove (16-4) managed to go out on a winning note again by defeating Mt. Assisi, this time by matching scores of 25-10, 25-10.
Leading the Trojan attack was Danielle Smith with 26 kills and 44 digs. Abbey Heredia (9 aces, 93 assists) and Jamie Kuhl (13 blocks) contributed.
"We are taking steps forward," said C-G coach Patty Langanis. "We saw better teamwork in every game."
PR 8th at DuPage tourney: Prairie Ridge coach Stefanie Otto brought her team to the DuPage Area Girls Volleyball to play against good competition.
The Wolves received plenty of that.
After starting Saturday with a 25-22, 25-21 victory against host Wheaton North to finish 2-1 in pool play, Prairie Ridge lost to Downers Grove South 25-9, 25-22 and Neuqua Valley 30-28, 25-21 to finish eighth in the quality 16-team field.
Otto was positive after the pair of losses.
"I saw a lot of growth in the team, actually," she said. "We played a lot of great teams so that was good for us to be challenged and pushed. You know, we're being pushed all year long. We've got to learn what it takes to win internally, and we don't have that drive and that desire yet.
"At times we have it and at other times we don't. We've just got a lot of girls who need to start believing in themselves. Some of them are not there yet."
Even though the Wolves (8-7) watched an 18-10 lead in the first game against Neuqua Valley (6-4) disappear, Otto saw some encouraging signs from the Wolves in the tourney.
"I wanted good competition and we got that," Otto said. "We come out of here 2-3, but I don't necessarily feel like there isn't any team we can't play with. It's just a matter whether or not we show up to play.
"The nice thing is I'm seeing moments of brilliance, but we're just not consistent right now. If they ever figure it out it'll be fun."
Meanwhile, Naperville North proved it's more than All-American Colleen Ward.
The Huskies combined a team effort with 17 kills by Ward to knock off previously-unbeaten Wheaton Warrenville South 21-25, 25-16, 25-21 in the championship match.
"We had a lot of people contribute," Huskies coach Jennifer Urban said. "I'm very proud of these girls because they're finding ways to get it done."
Strong defense, tough serving and a minimum of mistakes helped the Huskies (14-1) overcome the potent firepower of its DuPage Valley Conference rival.
Sandburg (8-2) posted a 25-20, 35-37, 25-15 win versus Downers Grove North (8-4) to take third in the quality 16-team field. Terese Byrne had 9 kills in the loss.
Naperville Central (12-3) took fifth with a 25-20, 25-23 triumph over Downers Grove South (8-3) behind Emily McGee's 10 kills.
"Overall, I'm happy with their performance, " Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said of her Redhawks. "I think they're really stepping it up."
St. Edward at Mother McAuley: St. Edward (6-10) participated in the Mother McAuley Tournament where itr went 2-3 overall. The Green Wave lost close matches to Mt. Assisi (27-25, 25-19) and Queen of Peace (26-24, 28-26) before beating Belleville East (25-23, 21-25, 25-17) and Richards (25-14, 23-25, 25-15). St. Edward concluded tournament action with a loss to Byron by scores of 26-24 and 25-17.
Katie Yohn had a big day recording a game-high 10 kills versus both Queen of Peace and Richards en route to racking up 31 kills, 45 assists, 9 aces and 17 blocks on the day. Taylor Barone (15 kills, 27 digs), Kristin Haggenjos (42 kills, 52 digs), Molly Kelly (19 kills, 8 blocks), Margie Heggenjos (40 digs, 4 aces) and Rachel Varley (8 aces, 33 assists) each added consistent, solid play for the Green Wave.
"It was a tough weekend, but we seem to get better with every game we play," said St. Edward coach Jaime Walton.
Burlington Central at Glenbard West: Finishing action at the Glenbard West Tournament 4-1 overall, Burlington Central (13-3) recorded a fifth place finish.
The Rockets went 2-0 in pool play with wins over Lake Park (25-12, 25-13) and Andrew (25-16, 25-14), but opened bracket play with a 25-23, 25-21 loss to Geneva. Burlington quickly bounced back to conclude tournament action with wins over Glenbard West (25-11, 25-10) and Hinsdale South (25-17, 25-18).
Leading the Rocket attack were middle hitters Teresa Krog (31 kills, 11 blocks, 9 aces) and Kim Ingraham (25 kills, 7 blocks), outside hitters Rachael Latham (28 kills, 5 aces, 10 digs) and Stephanie Holthus (44 kills, 5 aces 17 digs). Libero Brittany Priest recorded 31 digs, and setter Molly Turk racked up an impressive 112 assists to go along with 10 kills, 5 aces, 16 digs and 12 blocks.
Huntley at St. Viator Tournament: Huntley went 3-2 to win the Silver Division of the St. Viator Tournament behind solid play from Toni Jaehnig (7 aces, 21 kills, 27 digs), Krissy Bergquist (10 aces, 30 kills, 39 digs), Taylor Karns (47 digs) and Allyson Stellmach (15 kills, 21 digs).
The Red Raiders recorded wins against Guerin (21-5, 21-9), St. Joe's (21-16, 19-21, 15-13) and host St. Viator (11-21, 21-16, 15-13) while dropping contests to Carmel (21-15, 17-21, 15-8) and Rock Falls (21-13, 21-18).