Wrap-up: St. Charles E. drops Neuqua in UEC battle

Down 8 points in Game 2 of its Upstate Eight Conference girls volleyball match against Neuqua Valley on Tuesday night, St. Charles East needed an emotional lift.

The Saints, playing without their coach Jennie Kull for the first time that anyone could remember, had no trouble finding that lift.

St. Charles East rallied around its missing coach, overcoming deficits of 5-0, 12-4 and 17-10 to complete a 25-17, 28-26 victory over the Wildcats in St. Charles.

Kull's father passed away overnight Tuesday. Assistant Mike Bui filled in and was on the phone with Kull seconds after the match ended to give her the good news about her team.

"The kids and I did it for her," Bui said. "It was a very spiritual game for us. We played well today, and it was all for her."

Junior Laura Homann ended the match with an ace on a serve that hit the net before finding a spot between a trio of diving Wildcats.

"I think a lot of us especially in the second game when we were down, our timeout was, 'Do this for coach Kull,' " Homann said. "We came back out with a lot of intensity."

St. Charles East didn't lead in Game 2 until earning a match point at 24-23. Neuqua Valley fought off 2 match points and then had a game point at 26-25 only to watch sophomore Caroline Niski's kill land barely in.

Mattie Boyd gave the Saints a 27-26 lead with a well-placed shot, setting the stage for Homann's match-sealing ace.

"With the lead we got right out of the gate it shouldn't have been point for point at the end," Neuqua Valley coach Kelly Simon said. "That's a position we put ourselves in."

The win keeps the Saints (16-6, 6-1) a game behind St. Charles North in the Upstate Eight while Neuqua Valley (16-5, 5-2) fell two behind.

"We just didn't get things going at all," Simon said. "We were just really slow. St. Charles East made a lot fewer errors than we did. We gave up way too many points on net violations and service errors and just didn't execute the way we needed to."

The Saints cruised in the opening game. They served 4 of their 7 aces, including a pair by Niski.

The Wildcats' last lead came at 8-7. Haley Streich blocked Neuqua Valley for a 23-16 lead, then took a set from Homann a minute later to put away game point.

"We served aggressive," Bui said. "And our defense played really well as well."

Paige Stevens and Nikki Federico led the Wildcats with 9 and 8 kills, respectively.

"Just really disappointing we didn't come out and battle harder than we did," Simon said. "Credit to St. Charles East for playing solid ball. It's a disappointing loss for conference, for going into sectional seed meeting tomorrow night. (I) just thought it was going to be a bigger fight than that."

-- John Lemon

WW South d. Glenbard North:ŒThe Tigers (19-1, 9-0) registered a 25-14, 25-9 DuPage Valley Conference sweep on Mollie Kolosky's 8 kills, 4 aces and 2 blocks and Becca Zlabis' 7 kills.

Benet d. St. Joseph:ŒJessica Jendryk's 9 kills and Ariana Mankus' 7 kills and 4 aces pushed the Redwings (17-2, 5-1) to a 25-17, 25-12 triumph in an East Suburban Catholic Conference match.

Naperville Central d. West Aurora:ŒRebecca Heath pounded 15 kills while Megan Bray contributed 8 as the Redhawks (16-4, 6-3) cruised to a 25-11, 25-12 sweep in DuPage Valley Conference action.

Waubonsie Valley d. East Aurora:ŒNicole Salmon spiked 6 kills and Alana Jones served 6 aces for the Warriors (15-5, 6-1), who coasted to a 25-7, 25-7 Upstate Eight Conference win.

Glenbard South d. Kaneland:ŒThe Raiders (12-12-1, 3-6) posted a 25-20, 25-20 Western Sun Conference win behind Darah Preston's 8 kills and Alicia Engelhardt's 12 assists.

Willowbrook d. Proviso East:ŒCollette Williams collected 4 kills and 9 assists, while Josie Hopkins and Sarah McCarthy added 3 kills apiece for Willowbrook (12-13, 2-2) in its 25-10, 25-16 West Suburban Gold win.

Lisle d. Westmont:ŒLiz Todd's 7 kills and Jordan Biechler's 5 lifted the Lions (9-14, 6-1) to a 25-19, 26-24 victory in the Interstate Eight North.

Timothy Christian d. Walther Lutheran:ŒThe Trojans (7-13, 4-2) won 25-14, 25-19 in the Private School League sparked by Lindsay Vander Brug's 10 kills and 2 aces, Kimmy Vos' 13 service points and 6 kills and Anneke Stremler's 5 kills and 12 digs.

Downers North d. York:ŒThe Trojans (18-7, 4-0) recorded a 25-20, 25-17 West Suburban Silver sweep aided by Terese Byrne's 7 kills and 2 aces, Britta Baarstad's 7 kills and 6 digs, and Robyn Eggert's 9 digs.

Hinsdale Central d. Proviso West:ŒHeather Koenigs smacked 9 kills and Natalie Skiba nailed 7 as the Red Devils (11-11, 2-3) rolled to a 25-7, 25-5 victory in the West Suburban Silver.

Riverside-Brookfield d. Fenton:ŒThe Bison (9-12, 2-3) dropped a 25-13, 25-19 Metro Suburban Conference decision despite Lauren Stanek's 14 assists and Lauren Esmits' 12 digs and 3 aces.

Oak Park d. Addison Trail:ŒJoanna Terry and Katie Kamide landed 3 kills apiece for the Blazers (10-15) in their 25-12, 25-17 West Suburban Conference crossover loss.

Boys golf

Elk Grove regional:ŒFenton's Nico Lesala shot an 81 and Lake Park's Ryan Smith an 82 to qualify individually for next week's sectional out of the Class 3A Elk Grove regional.

"I didn't play my best, but I still moved on so I feel good. I have another chance to do my best next week," said Lesala, who failed to qualify for last year's sectional by 1 stroke.

Driscoll regional:ŒSophomore David Flynn shot a 69 to win medalist honors and lead the Warriors to the Class 2A regional championship at Glendale Lakes.

Wheaton Academy shot a 300, easily defeating second-place Lakes (331) and St. Edward (334). Driscoll placed fifth with a 347.

Senior Joe Gattone was the only Highlanders golfer to qualify for the sectional next week, shooting a 79.

Glenbard West regional:ŒMost golfers came off the course at Village Links of Glen Ellyn shaking their heads at how the course had played.

"It's just a more challenging golf course," Glenbard West coach Paul Hezlett said. "The greens are really tough. You're going to see a lot of 3-putting out there, so that's kind of an equalizer out there."

Don't include Hinsdale Central junior Brett Tomfohrde in that group, however.

Tomfohrde shot a 72 to easily outpace the field.

Hinsdale Central scored a 305 to win the regional, Downers Grove South was second with a 323, and Hinsdale South also advanced with a 330, beating Downers Grove North on a tiebreaker. Glenbard West's 331 just missed qualifying for the sectional.

The Hilltoppers did get two golfers through individually, however, with seniors Shane Bryant shooting a 77 and Leo Karris an 84.

"He played a really nice round, a 77," Hezlett said. "He's been playing well for us all year."

Boys soccer

St. Charles North 4, Lake Park 0:ŒAfter a tough Upstate Eight Conference loss to Waubonsie Valley, St. Charles North has won five consecutive games.

The fifth win arrived Tuesday, when the North Stars posted their fourth shutout of the season -- third with Tyler McEnery in the goal -- after a 4-0 win against Lake Park in St. Charles under the lights for the first time this season.

"We've been getting better and better," St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. "We've been moving the ball around a whole lot better offensively. We've been keeping possession, and when we are able to do that, I think we create some good chances."

The North Stars (12-3-1, 4-1) scored a pair of goals in the first half. Vladamir Schlageter netted one in at the 20:56 mark and Mike Picinich tallied the next with 12:48 left before the break.

Picinich did it again less than 10 minutes into the second half right after Jon Schroeder reinjured his knee. With a few days rest he should be OK.

The North Stars waited until 6:42 remained in the contest for their final goal from Bob Lundeen.

Lake Park (10-3-4, 1-3-2) had more chances to score in the first half than in the second half but still struggled to score. The Lancers hit the post three times in the first half.

"This was definitely not one of our best team efforts," Lake Park coach Norm Hillner said. "Maybe a lot of credit goes to (St. Charles North) … you have to make your own breaks sometimes, and we sure didn't."

-- Christine Bolin

Neuqua Valley 3, St. Charles East 0: Bryan Gaul's goal five minutes into the first half was all it took for Neuqua Valley to win the Upstate Eight Conference match. Miguel Joaquin and Bret Hruby added goals for Neuqua (13-1-3, 5-0-1).

Glenbard North 2, West Aurora 1: Bryan Noval scored twice, the second assisted by Brian Lewis, as Glenbard North (9-6-2) won the DuPage Valley contest.

Montini 1, Aurora Central Catholic 0: Jordan Werner's first-half goal off a Zander Carpanzano assist won the Suburban Catholic Conference match in Aurora. Alex Doyle made 5 saves for Montini (4-6-1, 2-2-0).

Downers Grove South 1, Benet 0: Host Downers South improved to 13-1-3 in the nonconference match, on Steve Lucianek's goal assisted by Mark Dismang. Brett Petricek made 5 saves for the Mustangs.

Women's soccer

Wheaton College 8, North Park 0:ŒThe Thunder broke the school's all-time winning streak record with its 30th consecutive victory.

Taryne Lee scored a pair of goals for Wheaton (12-0, 4-0 CCIW), and Libby Passiales, Maria Della Torre, Kira Davis, Brittany Bergh, Elise Jakoby and Hailey Partain each added 1 goal. Wheaton outshot North Park 41-2.