St. Francis still isn't satisfied

Naperville Central and St. Francis may be in different classes this year, but they share a common goal heading into girls volleyball state tournament action:

They're in it to win it.

Both have a good shot at continuing the area's state title streak. At least one team from DuPage County has won state for the last five years. Downers Grove South won Class AA in 2002, while St. Francis pulled off a Class A three-peat from 2002-2004. Naperville Central won Class AA in 2005 and St. Francis did the same in 2006.

This year marks the debut of the four-class system for girls volleyball. Naperville Central (36-4) will try to bring home the Class 4A championship trophy, while St. Francis (37-3) will try to take the Class 3A title.

Naperville Central has won 21 matches in a row. After winning the prestigious Mizuno Cup and Autumnfest tournaments on back-to-back weekends, the Redhawks survived the toughest sectional in the state at Naperville North before traveling to Pekin to sweep Collinsville 25-18, 25-23 in supersectionals.

"We feel proud of what we've done to get here, and we hope that continues," Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson said. "Getting there is an honor because there's only four teams that make it in the whole thing, but obviously our goal goes beyond just getting there."

The Redhawks meet Libertyville (34-6) in the semifinals at Friday night at Redbird Arena in Normal. The winner will play either St. Charles East (28-12) or Mother McAuley (33-7) in Saturday's 7:45 p.m. championship match.

St. Francis makes its 15th state appearance and seeks its ninth state title.

"I'm thrilled for the girls," Spartans coach Peg Kopec said. "People say, 'Doesn't this get old?' No. It doesn't get old because it's new people. For (senior setter Michelle) Kocher, three times (at state) is ridiculous, but for all those other kids it's a new experience."

The Spartans rallied to reach state. After losing to Rosary twice during the Suburban Catholic Conference season, they beat the Royals 19-25, 25-15, 25-16 in the Riverside-Brookfield sectional final before sweeping Joliet Catholic 25-19, 25-22 in the St. Francis supersectional.

"We've been improving," said St. Francis sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Robinson. "We're peaking right now."

"I always knew we had the potential," Kocher said. "We had the talent. It was just a matter of putting it together, and yeah, we had our ups and downs, but I think because of those we've come to this. We've kind of brought it all together."

St. Francis takes on Sycamore (38-2) in Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal. The winner will play either Crystal Lake Central (40-0) or Belleville Althoff (31-9) in the championship match at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Class 3A could be the most intriguing class.

"There's probably much more parity in it than the other ones," said Kopec, whose club edged Belleville Althoff 25-19, 22-25, 25-19 in the Nike Effingham Crossroads Classic on Sept. 8.

"I think it should be fun," Kocher said of competing in Class 3A. "It should be interesting. I mean it's the first time for this, so we'll see. We've won single A and double A, so why not triple A?"