Wrap-up: Batavia nearly upsets undefeated Sycamore

Batavia's girls volleyball team threatened Sycamore's perfect conference record, but in the end, the Spartans maintained their flawless 11-0 Western Sun Conference mark with a 25-23, 25-27, 26-24 victory.

"We gave them a match," Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said, noting that only the Bulldogs and Geneva have taken the Spartans to three games.

Batavia, which fell to 19-15 overall and 8-5 in the conference on Senior Night, was led by Taylor Koncelik's 9 kills and 3 blocks, along with Melissa Norville (8 kills, 3 blocks), Laura Doolin (23 assists, 10 digs, 1 block, 5 aces) and Courtney Sennstrom (4 kills, 2 blocks).

"We really played them," Trippi-Payne said of the Spartans, who improved to 32-2. "We played one of our best matches of the year. We really forced them to tip a lot. We did what we needed to do."

Geneva d. Rochelle 25-16, 25-8:ŒThe Vikings (21-8, 11-2) served 7 aces in the second game as they swept the Hubs. Lauren Wicinski had 7 kills and Jenny Pokorny set 13 assists.

Aurora Christian d. Walther Lutheran 25-14, 25-15:ŒThe Eagles improved to Œ14-13 overall and 4-4 in the PSL. Rachel Mertens set 9 assists and added 6 kills.

Women's soccer

Aurora 6, Alverno 0: Kendra Sickinger and Allison Bailey both scored twice as the Spartans (13-2-1, 9-0) remained tied for first in the NAC with Edgewood.

Waubonsee 4, Triton 0: Sara Merker scored twice for the Chiefs (7-6-2) and has 20 goals for the year. Jessica Cobo and Finda Fallah each added a goal and an assist.

Football

State rankings:ŒOne class, 7A, has a new No. 1 in the final regular-season state rankings for high school football released Tuesday by The Associated Press.

Lake Zurich (7-1) resumed the top spot after a 33-0 victory over Lake Forest. Lake Zurich, ranked first at the start of the season, hasn't allowed more than seven points in a game since a first-week 27-20 loss to still-undefeated 8A No. 5 Fremd.

Previous No. 1 Rolling Meadows (7-1) fell to No. 8 after 12-10 loss to Buffalo Grove in the Mid-Suburban-East.

East St. Louis (7-1) moved up one spot to No. 2 after a 53-14 victory over previously unbeaten Belleville East. The Flyers have averaged 47.5 points over the last six games. No. 4 Rockford Boylan and No. 5 Geneva each stayed undefeated and moved up a spot. The Vikings (8-0) play at Batavia (5-3) Friday night.

Glenbrook North (7-1) joined the 7A ranks at No. 9 after its seventh straight win, 41-6 over Deerfield. Moline (7-1) debuted at No. 10 after a 28-0 win over Quincy.

In Class 8A, No. 1 Mount Carmel (8-0) is coming off its most lopsided win of the season, 64-0 over St. Francis de Sales.

No. 2 Naperville North (8-0) and No. 3 Wheaton Warrenville South (8-0) play for the DuPage Valley title on Friday. No. 4 Downers Grove South and No. 5 Fremd also remain undefeated.

Brother Rice (6-2) joined the 8A ranks at No. 10 after a 14-13 victory over St. Rita. Lincoln-Way East (6-2) fell off the list after its second loss in three games.

In Class 6A, defending state champion Normal Community stretched its win streak to 22 with a 45-6 win over Decatur McArthur. The Ironmen will try for their second consecutive undefeated season in the Big Twelve on Friday against visiting Danville.

No. 2 Joliet Catholic defeated St. Joseph, 63-7. Joliet Catholic (7-1, 6-0) will host 7A No. 7 Carmel (7-1, 6-0) in the championship game of the East Suburban Catholic on Friday.

No. 3 Richards remained undefeated with a 44-7 victory over Oak Lawn. No. 5 Prairie Ridge and No. 7 Grant also are undefeated.

Previous No. 4 Lemont (6-2) fell to No. 9 after a 14-7 loss to Oak Forest.

The top-ranked teams in 4A and 5A will play Friday, when six-time defending state champion Driscoll (4A) and Montini (5A) meet for the Suburban Catholic championship.

Also in 5A, No. 2 Metamora (8-0) finished undefeated in the Mid-Illini with 49-7 victory over Morton. One time No. 1 Woodstock (6-2) fell another spot to No. 4 after a 21-7 loss to Driscoll. No. 5 Effingham (8-0) finished undefeated in the Apollo with a 26-19 win over Salem.

In 4A, Mount Carmel stayed No. 2 and Corn Belt champion Bloomington Central Catholic No. 3 after each won to stay undefeated.

Up one spot to No. 5 is Coal City (8-0). Herrin (7-1) fell to No. 10 from No. 4 after a 28-21 loss to West Frankfort.

In 3A, No. 1 St. Joseph-Ogden received a forfeit victory over Cullom Tri-Point/Donovan.

No. 3 Anna-Jonesboro (8-0) won the River-to-River-Mississippi outright with a 48-28 victory over Pinckneyville. No. 4 Greenville (8-0) finished off an undefeated season in the South Central-East with a 48-14 victory over Litchfield.

No. 6 PORTA/Greenview (8-0, 6-0) will host unranked Carthage Illini West (7-1, 6-0) for the championship in the West Prairie Trail-Southwest, and No. 7 Aurora Christian (8-0) and No. 8 Carterville (8-0) each rolled to easy victories.

Joining the 3A ranks at No. 10 was Columbia (8-0), which won the Cahokia with a 28-22 win over previously undefeated Red Bud.

In 2A, Morrison stayed No. 1 after a 49-28 win over Fulton.

Westville (8-0) stayed No. 2 following a 51-39 win over Hoopston. Defending state champions and No. 3 Maroa-Forsyth won for the 22nd consecutive time, 27-20 over Moweaqua A & M.

No. 4 Casey-Westfield will host winless Lawrenceville in its bid for an undefeated season in the Little Illini. No. 6 Forreston (8-0, 6-0) will host Class 1A No. 1 Dakota (8-0, 6-0) for the championship of the Upstate Illini-Northwest.

No. 8 Orion and No. 10 Flanagan/Woodland also remained undefeated and wrapped up league championships. Red Bud stayed at No. 7 despite its first loss, to Columbia.

Dakota retained the No. 1 position in 1A with a 42-0 win over Pecatonica.

No. 3 Mount Olive (8-0) is coming off a 48-0 win over Virden. Western Illinois Valley-North champion and No. 4 Jacksonville Routt (8-0) is fresh off its third consecutive shutout, 41-0 over Carrollton.

No. 6 Lewistown (8-0) got a late touchdown in a 20-14 win over Bushnell-Prairie City/Avon in the title game of the West Prairie Trail-Southeast. No. 7 Greenfield/Palmyra Northwestern can complete an undefeated regular-season slate with a victory over winless Jacksonville ISD.