Wrap: WW South eliminates SCN; St. Francis wins regional title

Rob Samp of Wheaton Warrenville South missed a week of volleyball practice recently due to a back injury, but he took the opportunity to work on his serve.

On Wednesday, Samp put away 7 aces to set the tone for the Tigers to defeat visiting St. Charles North 25-13, 25-17 to win the Wheaton Warrenville South regional championship.

"While I was out, all I did was focus on my serving," Samp said. "It's all about having the confidence that you're going to serve well and then hitting it with a flat hand to get it to float. With my back brace, I was able to keep my posture and keep everything in line, so I just had to concentrate on my hand."

The first time Samp stepped up to serve, he produced a five-point run including 3 aces that gave the Tigers (30-7) a 7-2 lead and put the North Stars on their heels.

Later in the game, with Samp serving, the Tigers went on a 7-point run and expanded the lead to 22-10 to close the deal.

St. Charles North coach Brad Mitchell thought the match was the worst the North Stars (23-13) played against a good team all year.

"They were serving tough and we didn't respond," Mitchell said. "And once that breaks down, nothing else can go right. You could tell we were playing scared. They're a good team and we had to play our best, and we didn't."

BYU-bound Rusty Lavaja led the North Stars with 5 kills, and Kegan Haeseli had 4 digs, 2 kills and 9 assists.

In Game 2 Joe Kelly and Eric Hardek got into the act spearheading 7- and 4-point runs, respectively, with each putting down an ace for a point. That gave the Tigers a 15-8 lead and just about clinched the regional title.

"The whole game starts with the first pass," said Kelly. "If you get a good serve and they're not getting the first pass off, their offense is in complete disarray. Our serving put them out of their system."

Kelly believed that the match was also one of the Tigers' best blocking performances of the year.

"We were really penetrating on the blocks tonight, especially Eric Hardek," Kelly said. "We've been working on penetrating in practice. This was the most fun we've had because we were pushing and pushing and pushing."

Coach Bill Schreier agreed that Wednesday's win ranks up with their best matches of the year.

"Our ball control was fabulous," Schreier said. "We did a great job of getting hands on their attack and slowing them down at the point of attack. We did a good job of executing. We came out and we did what we had to do on our side of the net."

Hardek led the Tigers with 6 kills and 9 digs, while Kelly was good for 17 assists. Brian Williams had 8 digs and Neal Whittington had 5 kills and 3 blocks.

St. Francis d. Bartlett 25-15, 25-16: Moments after Wednesday's Rolling Meadows regional boys volleyball championship, Wheaton St. Francis coach Mike Lynch was praising junior setter Mike Segneri.

"He did a great job getting all the hitters involved," said the 10th-year coach. "That's what makes it difficult for the opponent. They don't know where the ball is going."

The Spartans (34-3) are going to their second straight sectional after a 25-15, 25-16 triumph over Bartlett.

St. Francis returns to its home floor to host Elk Grove on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the sectional semifinal.

Segneri finished with 23 assists. His favorite targets were Bob Vonderhaar (8 kills), Joey Murnane (7), Jeff Dixon (7) and David Metzler (7).

As usual, New York University-bound libero Jay Hayes helped anchored the defense. He and Murnane each had 9 digs.

Bartlett stayed close early in Game 1. But the Spartans gradually pulled away when they scored 3 consecutive points for a 16-10 advantage.

A kill by Jake Rio (2 blocks) made it 17-11 and Bartlett never got closer.

In Game 2, Segneri served the Spartans to a 6-0 lead. They got ahead 13-3 before Bartlett rallied to within 14-11.

St. Francis recovered and closed with an 11-5 run to win their third regional under Lynch, who has directed the Spartans to their best record in school history.

"We were just a little off with our passing," Hayes said of the Bartlett rally in Game 2. "When we have those lapses, we just have to refocus. Our setter (Segneri) gets us back on track. He usually go to Joey Murnane or Bob Vonderhaar and they always find a way to put it down."

Vonderhaar put down the match winner with a backhand attack, giving the Spartans their 27th straight victory.

"Lately, Joey (Murnane) and Bob (Vonderhaar) have been our go-to players," Lynch said. "And our defense did a great job controlling the ball."

Steve Hewitt added 10 service points and Jeff Tribble 9 for the winners.

Chris Guimen led Bartlett (20-12) with 6 kills while Jason Theobald added 5 with 12 assists.

"And Sam Hillis had 2 key blocks for us during our rally in Game 2," said Bartlett coach John Breines. "I thought we did pretty well blocking. That's what helped us get back into Game 2."

"I'm proud of the kids," the coach added. "They fought back. Wheaton St. Francis has two very good outside hitters and they probably have the best passer (Hayes) in the state."

-- John Leusch

Baseball

Aurora Central Catholic 7, Yorkville 3:ŒThe Chargers (13-15) advanced to Saturday's Aurora Central Catholic regional championship game after they knocked off No. 1 seed Yorkville (14-14).

"We are really excited," ACC coach Mike Armato said. "I'm almost speechless. I give the kids a ton of credit. They stepped up when they had to."

On the mound, Ken Litrenta picked up the win and Chase Weber recorded the save.

Nick Czaja batted 3-for-4 with a double and Kyle Edwards and Mike Adams both homered. ACC finished with 10 hits.

"We've been putting the bat of the ball lately," Armato said. "Hopefully, it continues."

The Chargers will take on either rival Marmion or Oswego East. Those two teams play Thursday at ACC at 4:30 p.m. in the other regional semifinal game.

Boys lacrosse

All-conference honors:ŒEight St. Charles players were named to the all-conference team.

Five of them made the first team: Sean Brogan (senior, attack); Madden Titus (senior, defense); Tyler Hines (senior, defense, second time selected); Sean McGushin (junior, goalie, second time selected) and Ben Dvorak (sophomore, midfielder).

Three players made the second team: Cam Caruso (senior, midfielder), Chad Ellis (sophomore, attack), Pat Killeen (sophomore, long stick midfielder).

St. Charles will host St. Viator at Norris Stadium at 7:45 p.m. tonight in the state quarterfinals.