Saints' Cinderella run ends
NORMAL -- The St. Charles East girls volleyball team may have lost in two games in the first game of the Class 4A state volleyball semifinals to Mother McAuley, but the Saints kept their heads up, knowing that there is still another day to play -- just not for first place.
"How can we not (enjoy this)?" St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said. "It's a lot of fun. We are so blessed we are here and that we've had this opportunity. It's been a great ride."
Mother McAuley topped the Saints 25-23, 25-19 and advanced to the championship match against Naperville Central. With the Saints' loss, they will play Libertyville for third place at 6:45 p.m. tonight at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State in Normal.
The first game had three early ties before Mother McAuley scored the next 4 points behind Carli Weiler's serving, Saints errors and a kill from Lexi Weiler.
The Saints were down 14-7 and 17-10 but chipped away at Mother McAuley's lead toward the end. St. Charles East was able to tie the game three times until the Mighty Macs (34-7) capped the game with two consecutive points.
"It was a lot of nerves, but that's not how we play," Saints senior Mattie Boyd said on how the team came out in the first game. "Everyone knows that. Hopefully, we'll come out tomorrow."
St. Charles East jumped ahead 5-1 in Game 2 behind Jordan Jones' serving and Mother McAuley hitting errors. The Saints were in control for the first half of the game, yet the Mighty Macs were never far behind.
Once Mother McAuley tied the game at 14 on a St. Charles East serving error, it never let the Saints lead again. The match ended on a kill from Jessica Galotta.
"We weren't as aggressive (on offense) as we should have been," Kull said on Game 2. "We didn't keep that same composure we've had in this second season....(Mother McAuley) is a fantastic team. They kept doing what they needed to do, and we knew that coming in."
Caroline Niski led the Saints with 7 kills. Boyd finished with 5 and Haley Streich tallied 4 kills. Alex Coello had 17 digs and Laura Homann finished with 17 assists and 8 digs.
"One of the things we did well was defense," Kull said of the Saints, who totaled 57 digs. "There were long, long rallies, and that's been one of the strengths of our postseason."
This was the second time these two teams met this season, as Mother McAuley topped the Saints at Autumnfest in two games in mid-October.
"(The Saints) were better ball-handlers this time than last," Mighty Macs coach Jennifer DeJarld said. "They moved the ball a lot better."
The Saints, who are 28-13, are just glad they get to enjoy one last match together, win or lose.
"Tomorrow is the last game of the season," Coello said. "We are playing at the last possible point, which is a perfect way to end the year. We played so well together this year. There's nothing like this."