ACC wins opener; Lancers next for SCN
The Aurora Central Catholic girls volleyball team kicked off the postseason with a 25-19, 25-12 win against Chicago Crane in the first round of the ACC regional Wednesday.
"It was nice to be scheduled a match where we had a chance to win," ACC coach Randy Hewitt said.
With the win, the No. 13 seed ACC (7-23) will take on Suburban Catholic Conference opponent St. Francis, the No. 1 seed Saturday.
In the first game against No. 17 seed Crane, ACC jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but leveled off. The second game went a lot better for the Chargers.
"They came out and executed better," Hewitt said.
Sarah Chandler led the way with 4 kills and Casey Regnier, Stephanie Pogwizd and Lauren Buba each tallied 3 kills. Brooke Frantzen finished with 8 assists and 7 aces.
Lake Park d. Larkin:ŒLake Park might not yet be ready to talk about a big upset come Saturday, but the Lancers do feel better about themselves.
The good feelings came along with some confidence after the Lancers knocked off Larkin 25-15, 25-12 in Roselle in quarterfinal action of the Class 4A Wheaton North girls volleyball regional. Lake Park was sharp in knocking off the Royals (4-33) and will need to be at the top of its game when St. Charles North will be awaiting the Lancers for a 12:30 p.m. semifinal regional match at Wheaton North on Saturday.
"It was a fun game," senior outside hitter Noelle Fanella said of the Lancers' sweep on Wednesday. "I'm happy with the performance we had. We played pretty well."
While a struggling Larkin squad might not have provided the toughest of tests, Lake Park was on top of its game. Fanella and Sarah Pudell led a balanced attack, the setters were on target, and improved serve receive paid major dividends.
"Overall we did a real nice job. We pulled it all together," Clifton said. "We've got some confidence now and we know what we're up against. St. Charles North is a good team, but we're going to be prepared."
Larkin fell behind 11-4 and 16-5 in the second game before rallying somewhat to make the game tighter. Jessica Harris had a pair of winners late and Ashley Gazda added a kill for the Royals, but it was not enough to hold off Lake Park.
Fanella expects the Lancers to play better when they get another shot at St. Charles North.
"I'm confident we'll do better than the last time," she said. "We should give them a better match. But they're a pretty good team; I'm not going to lie to you."
-- Stan Goff