N. Stars stop S. Elgin; Larkin gets UEC win
If it wasn't exactly winning ugly for the St. Charles North girls volleyball team Tuesday night, it certainly goes down as winning without its 'A' game.
The North Stars displayed that 'A' game a night earlier in dispatching Bartlett. Repeating that feat two nights in a row didn't happen, even though St. Charles North did go over .500 both overall and in the Upstate Eight Conference with a 25-14, 25-20 win over South Elgin.
"Everything we did positive yesterday (Monday) is just erased from today (Tuesday)," St. Charles North coach Lindsay Trudell said. "Tomorrow we have to erase today and start over."
St. Charles North (6-5, 2-1) led comfortably for most of Game 1. Kills by juniors Jen Ask and Allie Van Dril helped the North Stars build a 14-8 lead.
South Elgin's Genevieve Johnson fired a pair of tough serves to make it 14-11. Ask played a big role in St. Charles North taking control for good with 3 kills on the next 6 points for a 20-11 advantage.
Kelsey Smith's 2 kills in the middle and a South Elgin error on game point closed out Game 1.
"I felt like we had a lot of balls hit the floor that shouldn't have," South Elgin coach Joni Melahn said. "I told the team we were going to win this match playing defense and they didn't step it up early enough."
Both teams struggled with their serves in Game 2. The Storm missed five times, one more than the North Stars.
South Elgin led once at 10-9. Three straight points from Olivia Schneider put the North Stars back on top to stay, with Ask providing 2 of the kills during Schneider's 3-point run.
Even with the win, Ask said the North Stars need to return to the form they showed against Bartlett when St. Charles North takes part in the Wheaton Classic Thursday and Saturday.
"We kind of played laid back," Ask said. "The second game I felt we weren't focused enough."
Tara Bradley and Amber Schnecke led South Elgin (1-8, 1-2) with 3 kills. Bradley added 3 aces and 6 assists.
"Against a team like St. Charles North, they are going to hit the ball, how we react to the ball is how we are going to win," Melahn said. "We couldn't react to the ball."
Larkin d. East Aurora: Larkin (4-6, 1-2) nabbed its first Upstate Eight Conference win with this 25-17, 25-15 victory. Liza Smithberger (10 assists, dig, kill) and Jessica Harris (4 aces, block, 6 kills) led the Royal attack.
St. Charles East d. Streamwood: Despite solid efforts from Betsy Holman (5 kills) and Adrianna Salgado (13 assists), Streamwood (3-6, 1-1) fell in Upstate Eight Conference play 25-13, 25-20.
Bartlett d. Lake Park: Behind a dominating showing from Carly Sahagian (17 kills, 2 digs), Bartlett (9-4-1, 2-1) took this Upstate Eight Conference bout by scores of 25-18 and 25-17. Emily Hayes (4 kills, ace, block, dig) and Alyssa Cazzato (26 assists, 4 digs) contributed.
Prairie Ridge d. Jacobs: After dropping Game 1, Jacobs (4-6) went on to lose to Prairie Ridge 23-25, 25-21, 25-14 in Fox Valley crossover action. Leading the Golden Eagle attack were Lauren Pigatto (9 kills, 3 aces, 14 digs), Erica Liss (16 assists, 2 aces) and Staci Weinert (10 digs, 3 kills, 4 blocks).
Crystal Lake South d. Grayslake Central: Behind solid efforts from Jordan Guida (6 digs, 4 aces), Katie Trayser (7 digs) and Lena Mack (5 aces), Crystal Lake South won this Fox Valley crossover match 25-13, 25-9.
Johnsburg d. Dundee-Crown: Despite key efforts from Stephanie Thorson (8 kills) and Katie Cutinello (15 assists), Dundee-Crown (6-3) lost this Fox Valley Crossover matchup in three games (25-14, 20-25, 25-16).
Walther Lutheran d. Westminster Christian: Westminster Christian (3-5, 0-1) opened Private School League action with this 25-20, 27-25 loss. Despite falling in two games, Katie Webster (10 digs), Jessica Benson (10 digs, 7 kills) and Hannah Graves (13 assists, 3 digs) each had strong outings for the Warriors.
Women's volleyball
MCC d. Moraine Valley: In a hard-fought match, McHenry County College (5-5, 3-0) came out ahead winning in five games (14-25, 25-23, 25-20, 28-30, 15-11). Kayla Hayden (17 kills, 5 aces), Brianna Smith (7 blocks) and Jenna Baldwin (12 digs) led the way for the Scots.