Third time is the charm for Grayslake North
Except for the fact the Grayslake North and Grayslake Central volleyball players and coaches were wearing pink T-shirts, the first two games of Thursday's match followed the same script as the previous two meetings.
Grayslake North dominates the first game only to watch Grayslake Central take the second game, seize momentum and win the match.
Only this time, the script had a happier ending for visiting Grayslake North.
After winning the first game 25-16 and losing the second 25-21, the Grayslake North Knights rolled to a 25-15 victory in the decisive game.
The reason for all the pink is that October is National Breast Cancer awareness month. All the money raised Thursday will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
This was the second Fox Valley Conference Fox Division victory for the Knights (12-16, 2-6). Grayslake Central dropped to 10-13, 2-6.
The Knights showed some serious resolve after losing the second game. At one point, they led 12-3 and looked to be in complete control.
"I really hoped it wouldn't be the same (outcome)," junior libero Grace Schlagetter said. "We had more passion for this match than any all year. They had beaten us twice, and this was our chance to show that we could (win)."
The Knights proceeded to play some of their best volleyball of the season in the third game.
"They played out of their minds," Grayslake North coach Nikki Kirchway said. "Except for a few serve-receives, their play was flawless."
Early in the third game, the Rams gave away a couple of points with bad serves. They were unable to recover.
"We weren't as aggressive as in the second game," Rams coach Jason Janczak said. "We started playing not to lose. We can be a very streaky team sometimes."
Anytime Grayslake Central started a run, it seemed as if Schlagetter would come through with a huge dig for the Knights.
"I always call her our little firecracker," Kirchway said. "She's always going all out."
Grayslake North's pinpoint passing, led by senior Megan Falk (26 digs) and Schlagetter, let junior setter Kaitlyn Klausner use all her hitters. Falk had 9 kills on the outside, and the Knights also had great success running their middles. Seniors Alex Lowry and Kauri Voss contributed 9 and 5 kills, respectively.
Juniors Tory Dohm and Anna Dlesk each had 8 kills for the Rams. Dohm and senior Brianna Anderson had 4 aces apiece.
The Knights will play host to the Grayslake North Invitational on Saturday.
"We pushed out all the negative thoughts," Falk said. "Finishing this was such an adrenaline rush. We want to bring this energy into our tournament."