Cary-Grove rolls to title at Mother McAuley
The Cary-Grove girls volleyball team made a loud statement Saturday, winning the championship of the Mother McAuley tournament with a perfect 5-0 record.
The Trojans (17-3) downed St. Edward 25-19, 25-19; Queen of Peace 25-23, 25-19; Belleville East 25-20, 25-13; Nazareth Academy 25-17, 25-21, and Mt. Assisi 20-25, 25-17, 25-18.
"This was a great tournament for us," said C-G coach Patty Langanis. "It was our goal to win this tournament so we can play in the Nike Preview tournament next year. Even though some of the girls won't be here to play in it next year I think everyone will remember that this team was the one who got us there."
Allison Straumann led the Trojans with 40 kills and 43 digs on the day. Kelly Lamberti had 24 aces, Colleen Hargrove had 21 blocks, and Abbey Heredia contributed 111 assists for the tournament.
St. Edward 4th at Mother McAuley: With a pair of wins and three losses, St. Edward earned fourth place honors in the Mother McAuley Tournament. The Green Wave beat Queen of Peace (25-17, 22-25, 25-23) and St. Augustine (25-23, 25-23) and lost to Mt. Assisi (23-25, 25-20, 25-23), Nazareth Academy (25-13, 25-13) and Cary-Grove (25-19, 25-19). Katie Yohn (24 blocks, 31 digs, 43 kills), Molly Kelly (20 blocks, 10 kills) and Kristen Haggenjos (25 digs, 51 kills) led the way for the Wave.
Burlington 3rd at Glenbard West: Going 4-1 in the Glenbard West Tournament, Burlington Central (13-3) took third-place honors. With pool play victories over Glenbard East (25-20, 25-11) and Prospect (25-11, 25-13), the Rockets opened the playoff round with a 25-20, 25-18 win over Glenbard South. In the semifinals, Geneva delivered Burlington its lone loss of the tournament via a 25-23, 25-12 conclusion, but the Rockets battled back to win the third-place match with a 25-12, 25-20 win over Fremd. Molly Turk (69 assists, 28 kills, 7 aces, 18 digs) and Stephanie Holthus (45 kills, 10 aces, 45 digs) were named to the all-tournament team. Taylor Scully (21 kills, 3 aces, 22 digs) and Meghan Zasada (13 kills, 6 aces, 23 digs) each added excellent play for BC.
Elgin at Hersey: Elgin (8-8-2) earned consolation championship honors at the Hersey Invitational with a 25-18, 34-36, 15-9 victory over Glenbard North. Prior to the match, the Maroons had fallen to Montini (25-16, 25-20) and Lake Zurich (25-13, 25-22), but had wins over both Schaumburg (25-23, 25-22) and Mundelein (18-25, 25-19, 25-20). Kendall Martin led the Elgin attack with 39 kills, 10 blocks and 5 aces. Ellen Holton (26 kills, 5 blocks), Lindsay Morrow (32 digs) and Abbey Houde (88 assists) each added key contributions.
Huntley 2nd at St. Viator: Following consecutive wins over Rock Falls (25-13, 25-15), Rockford Boylan (25-15, 19-25, 15-10), St. Viator (25-23, 25-14) and Elk Grove (14-25, 25-19, 15-8), Huntley (9-5) found itself in the championship contest of the St. Viator Tournament. In a tight match, the Red Raiders fell 25-20, 12-25, 15-12 to Immaculate Conception, but earned second place honors in the tournament. Leading the attack for Huntley were Toni Jaehnig (20 kills, 22 digs), Amanda Carroll (8 aces, 53 assists, 16 digs) and Amy Dion (56 digs).
Larkin at Maine East: Concluding play at the Maine East Invitational with losses to Loyola Academy (26-24, 25-22), Maine West (25-8, 25-14), Maine West (25-14, 25-11), Lake Forest (25-22, 25-11) and a win over Lincoln-Way East (25-20, 25-23), Larkin finished 12th among 16 teams competing. The Royals were led by Jessica Harris (19 kills, 25 digs) and Claire Sherman (35 digs).