Different looking Saints headed back to state
In 2001, the St. Charles East girls volleyball team and coach Jennie Kull won the Class AA state title.
On that team were nine Division-I players.
Six years later, Kull and the Saints are heading back to state. This time, there are four classes and just one Division-I player on the team in outside hitter, Mattie Boyd, who is heading to DePaul next year.
Of course, every year, every team is different in talent, chemistry and cohesiveness. Kull couldn't think to compare this year's state-bound team to the one in 2001.
"This is a completely difference experience," Kull said. "I have 12 kids who really love each other -- not that (the 2001) team didn't -- but this team has a heart bigger than you can imagine…they enjoy being together and they didn't want (the season) to end."
The Saints are taking that heart to Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal today and Saturday to cap their season at the state tournament at Redbird Arena.
The Saints begin tournament play against Mother McAuley at 6:30 p.m. The winner will take on the winner of Libertyville/Naperville Central Saturday evening.
"(Mother McAuley), they are a very disciplined team, they are very scrappy," Kull said. "At this point in the season, it comes down to making sure we stay prepared and healthy. Right now, the most important thing is we come in and play.
"Mother McAuley is a great program (with) 3,000 girls to choose from. They are going to be ready. We just have to be on top of our game."
Earlier in the season at Autumnfest, the Saints fell to Mother McAuley in two close games.
The same thing happened with the Saints against Prairie Ridge, their opponent in the DeKalb supersectional. They lost to the Wolves earlier in the season, but proved that didn't matter, either.
The Saints are clearly playing their best volleyball of the season and are 28-12 going into tonight's match.
"I didn't know what was going to happen with our team this year," Boyd said. "But we were such good friends last year and our team is so close, anything could happen with us."
Anything and everything did happen for St. Charles East. The Saints won a regional, upset Wheaton Warrenville South in the sectional final and right before that match, beat their rivals, St. Charles North, in the sectional semifinal. That match avenged an earlier-season loss. So did the supersectional win against Prairie Ridge, another team that got hot at the end of the season.
"I didn't walk into my senior season and think, 'We are going to beat (St. Charles) North, Wheaton Warrenville South and Prairie Ridge and going to state,'" senior Alex Coello said. "It's not something I had in my plans…but this is like a dream come true."
Coello leads the team in digs (287), followed by Laura Homann (187). Boyd is the leader in kills (392), followed by Caroline Niski (228), Homann (157) and Courtney Sjostrom (143). Homann is also the Saints' leader in aces (42) and tallied 1,023 assists as the team's setter.