Judson men reach CCAC title game
The Judson University men's soccer team held off a fighting Olivet Nazarene (10-8-1) men's soccer team for a 2-1 win in the CCAC semifinal match Saturday. With the win, JU advances to the CCAC Tournament championship, which the Eagles (12-4-3) will host on Tuesday against St. Xavier.
JU's Milos Bajic scored the first goal of the game in the 5th minute when he received a cross from Gustavo Oliveira in the box.
JU's constant pressure paid off in the 66th minute when Oliveira took a pass from the Bajic brothers (Petar and Milos) into the box and scored to give JU a 2-0 lead.
Women's volleyball
Judson splits: For the final tournament of the year, the Judson University volleyball team posted a 2-2 record over two days of play in the CCAC/MCC Challenge held at St. Xavier. JU fell to Viterbo Saturday but won its final match over Grand View.
JU battled Viterbo, the No. 5 team in the region, to four games as Viterbo took a 30-26, 30-28, 28-30, 30-21 win. JU hit .200 overall and senior Erin Bultinck had 19 kills. Sophomore Debra Leganski recorded 26 digs.
The Eagles improved their record to 12-22 overall with a three-game sweep of Grand View. JU won 30-23, 30-19, 30-22 and hit .285 in the match with 9 blocks. Senior Kym Gagnon had 13 kills to lead the team. Bultinck recorded 12 kills while freshman Jessie Fortner had 11 kills with only one attacking error for a .416 hitting percentage. Leganski had 23 digs.
Judson splits Friday matches: Judson defeated Mount Mercy but lost to Ashford on Friday night.
JU won the first game over Mount Mercy 30-19, but then fell in the next game 28-30. The Eagles regained their momentum for 30-23 and 30-19 wins in games three and four for the match win. Senior Kym Gagnon led the way with 19 kills. Sophomore Danielle Dull hit .375 with 15 kills and senior Erin Bultinck added 14 kills. Freshman Carly Campioni recorded a career-high 54 assists. JU also recorded 14 team blocks.
Against Ashford, the Eagles suffered a five-game loss. JU took game one 30-21 and then fell 29-31 in game two and 17-30 in game three. JU bounced back with a 30-20 win in game four but could not keep the momentum as AU won 15-8 in game five. JU hit .222 as a team in the match with Bultinck recording 17 kills. Both Gagnon and Dull had 12 kills each. Sophomore Debra Leganski had 37 digs.
Girls volleyball
Bartlett regional: The Hawks fell to Batavia 25-23, 25-21 in the semifinals. Batavia then lost to Wheaton Warrenville South 25-15, 25-7 in the title match.
Emily Hayes had 9 kills to lead Bartlett (16-17) while Carly Sahagian had 8 kills and 6 aces and Meagan Mangahas added 16 assists.
At Glenbard East: South Elgin (15-17) fell to St. Charles East 15-13, 15-7 in the semifinals. The Saints went on to win the regional and will face St. Charles North in the Lake Park sectional semifinals on Thursday.
Hayley Bradley led South Elgin Saturday with 4 kills.
Football
Driscoll 47, Bishop Mac 19: Before its first round matchup Saturday against Bishop McNamara, Driscoll's football team had never in 33 years squared off against a Chicago Catholic League opponent.
The Highlanders took full advantage of their first shot, burying the Fighting Irish 47-19 to advance to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Highlanders made it clear from the outset they could more than hold their own against Bishop McNamara, scoring on their first two drives of the game.
After senior David Schwabe scored from 24 yards out on a quarterback keeper to open the game, the Highlanders (10-0) recovered an onside kick and marched 38 yards downfield for their second score -- all before Bishop McNamara had a chance to touch the ball.
Despite its current streak of six consecutive IHSA titles, Driscoll felt it lacked the proper respect coming into the game.
"We had the right attitude from the get-go, because they're from the Chicago Catholic League and they're the big dogs and stuff, so we wanted to show we could get some respect from them too," Schwabe said.
After surrendering an Anthony Grant touchdown late in the first quarter, Driscoll found itself facing another efficient McNamara drive that led the Fighting Irish to Driscoll's 40-yard line. The Highlanders held tough on fourth down, then swung the momentum back in their favor by driving 60 yards in two plays for a 19-6 advantage.
"The last couple weeks we've had opportunities to put daggers in our opponents and we failed to do that," Driscoll coach Mike Burzawa said. "This week we wanted to make sure we capitalized on our opportunities. We just had the right situation with the wind and things … and we were able to get that touchdown."
From the time Grant's touchdown cut the Driscoll lead to 6 points until four minutes remained in the third quarter, the Highlanders reeled off 35 unanswered points, all but assuring Driscoll its 10th win of the year.
"We came out razor sharp today, and that's what we've been looking for," Burzawa said. "We've actually struggled a little bit offensively the last couple of weeks. We weren't putting up the points, so today we wanted to come out and make it a point to smell the end zone and put the ball in the end zone.
"That's what we emphasized this week and that's what the boys did."
Driscoll stayed balanced on offense all game. Schwabe completed 10 passes for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns, while senior Tim Franken led the rushing attack with 161 yards and 4 scores.
-- Matthew McClarey