Williams learns about St. Charles rivalry

It's easy for a lifelong St. Charles resident to know what the Saints-North Stars rivalry means, but for a newcomer it might not sink in until you experience it first hand.

North Stars senior middle hitter Lindsay Williams, a transfer from Prairie Ridge, played in her first St. Charles North-St. Charles East match Thursday night at North.

Williams, who has committed to Western Kentucky, has played in plenty of big matches before and will do so in the future, yet she said she has never seen an atmosphere like this.

"That was amazing," Williams said. "It was the biggest game I've ever played in. I've never had this big of a rivalry. It gives you so much more energy. It builds us up so much."

The 6-foot-1 Williams and her taller teammates dominated the net, leading the North Stars to an exciting and hard fought 25-22, 18-25, 25-23 win.

Gretchen Giesler and Elin Smith were among the North Stars who gave the Saints hitters the most trouble finding openings.

"We threw a wall up there," Williams said. "Tonight Gretchen played awesome with blocking. It was incredible."

"That is the key to our game," St. Charles North coach Lindsay Trudell said. "It was really good they did it tonight. We've been waiting a long time. We've shown glimpses of our height. Today, (our) attacking and defense paid off."

The victory not only allowed the North Stars (11-6, 5-0) to retain city bragging rights, it put them a game ahead of the Saints (13-6, 4-1) in the Upstate Eight Conference.

"That was a great match. That's what it should be," St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said. "Both teams came in ready to play with a lot of energy. They have a great program.

"They are tall and they block well. We hit into them and they took care of business."

St. Charles North never trailed in the deciding third game. Two blocks by Elin Smith and another from Gretchen Giessler helped put the North Stars up early 4-0.

The Saints fought back, tying the game at 15, 16 and 17. The North Stars took the lead for good at 18-17 when Karlie Giesler hit a winner deep on the Saints' side.

They led 24-22 when the Saints' Mattie Boyd fended off one match point with a kill. But Smith took a set from Anne Stoermer on the next point and hammered down the game-winner.

"(Annie) sets those plays so good," Smith said. "I told her to set it and it was just like practice. I'm really happy. This is definitely the game we all look for."

St. Charles East got off to slow starts in all three games. Seven service errors in the first game proved too much to overcome.

The Saints battled back from a 15-11 deficit in Game 2. From there they outscored the North Stars 14-3 to force a third game.

-- John Lemon

Wheaton Academy d. Timothy Christian:ŒThe Warriors won 25-18, 25-14 despite 4 kills and 2 aces from Anneke Stremler of Timothy Christian (3-9, 2-1 Private School League. Maggie Johnson had 10 kills, Shelby Vischer had 6 kills and 4 aces and Carly Keith had 17 assists for the Warriors (10-6, 4-0).

Downers Grove North d. Hinsdale South:ŒThe Trojans scored a 26-28, 25-10, 25-19 victory in a West Suburban Conference crossover. Britta Baarstad had 10 kills, Terese Byrne had 7 kills and 8 digs and Molly Sigerich added 15 kills.

DeKalb d. Glenbard South:ŒIn the Western Sun Conference the Raiders fell 25-20, 22-25, 25-21 to fall to 8-9 overall, 2-4 in the league. Alicia Engelhardt had 13 assists, Leah Tacchi had 7 assists and Jessica O'Malley added 8 digs.

York d. Willowbrook:ŒIn a West Suburban Conference crossover match, York won 25-16, 25-23. For Willowbrook (9-12), Stacie Bower had 11 digs and a kill, Collette Williams had 8 assists, 4 digs and 2 kills, and Danielle Muhlena notched 5 kills and a dig.

Waubonsie Valley d. Larkin:ŒJoslyn Drew had 10 kills and Kassie Kadera added 24 assists in the Warriors' 25-12, 25-18 Upstate Eight Conference victory. Waubonsie Valley is 10-3, 4-1.

Naperville Central d. Glenbard East:ŒDespite 7 digs and 4 kills from the Rams' Alyssa Gianatasio, the Redhawks won 25-13, 25-10 in the DuPage Valley Conference.

Neuqua Valley d. South Elgin:ŒPaige Stevens had 5 kills, 9 assists and 3 digs to lead the Wildcats (8-4, 3-1) to the 25-15, 25-18 Upstate Eight Conference victory.

Benet d. Bishop McNamara:ŒThe Redwings took a 25-15, 25-8 victory in the East Suburban Catholic Conference as Natalie Patzin had 4 kills and 4 assists, Tara Torbik had 9 digs and an assist, and Jessica Jendryk had 9 kills, 2 digs and an assist.

Naperville North d. West Aurora:ŒIn the DuPage Valley Conference the Huskies won 25-15, 25-8 as Colleen Ward notched 9 kills and Christine Wu had 5 aces and 7 digs.

Glenbard North d. West Chicago:ŒThe Panthers' Sarah Campos had 19 assists and 2 aces in a 25-15, 25-13 victory in the DuPage Valley Conference.

Boys soccer

Wheaton Academy 3, Streamwood 1:ŒLuke Partain, Andrew Knighten and Mark Fernandes each scored a goal for the Warriors (5-2-3) in a nonconference match.

Timothy Christian 2, St. Francis 1:ŒRay Fontaine got the lone goal for the Spartans (3-6-3).

Glenbard North 2, Glenbard East 1:ŒThe Panthers (7-5-1, 1-3) earned their first DuPage Valley Conference victory in two years on the strength of 2 Ignacio Delgado goals, the second coming in overtime. Brian Lewis and Matt Keating contributed assists.

Glenbard South 4, Rochelle 2:ŒJosh Payne and Foster Pyle each tallied 2 goals for the Raiders (7-3, 2-1, Western Sun Conference).

Lake Park 3, East Aurora 3:ŒMike Andrews scored a pair of goals in an Upstate Eight Conference tie.