Lake Park eliminates Larkin in 2
Lake 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.
"We've been working hard," Lake Park coach Kate Clifton said. "We had two days coming off the Lancer Invite where we saw some good teams. We worked hard and it showed."
The Royals had an 8-6 lead early in Game 1 before the host Lancers used a 19-7 run to close out the game. Sophomore Chelsea Gieseke ended the game with a block kill, but strong hitting from Fanella and Pudell and some strong serving put the Lancers in position to close out the opener.
"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.
"I thought their confidence level was down," Larkin coach Gail Johnson said. "When they have the confidence level and believe in themselves they play so much harder. The first time we played them it was closer and a little bit more intense."
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."