Postseason changes just fine with local teams

The girls volleyball postseason will take on a bit of a different look later this month, thanks to Huntley moving to Class 4A and Hampshire to Class 3A.

Huntley's move up in class created some happiness for at least two coaches -Cary-Grove's Patty Langanis and Crystal Lake South's Jorie Fontana. Their respective teams have been in the same regional for many years, but have been split for the 2008 postseason. Cary-Grove, which beat South earlier this week, will play in the Class 4A Dundee-Crown regional along with Jacobs, Elgin, Streamwood and the host Chargers. CL South, meanwhile, is in the Woodstock regional with Prairie Ridge, Grant, McHenry and the host school. Both regionals feed into the Prairie Ridge sectional.

"For years it's been us and South going at it in the conference and then in the regional," said Langanis, whose team will surely be the top seed at D-C when the coaches meet for seeding next week. "It's a nice break to be separated from them. Jacobs and Dundee-Crown are good teams but there isn't that same deep intensity there is with us and South. I think we're probably both relieved."

Langanis pointed out that last year her Trojans won the regional after the Gators had gone 10-0 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division. In 2006, it was the reverse.

"It's been hard on both teams," Langanis said. "We're excited to have a little different regional and I'm sure they are too."

Fontana, in her first year as South's head coach, had mixed feelings about the change.

"I don't know if it's good or bad. I just think it's refreshing," said Fontana. "It's a new look to something we've gotten used to. It'll be a whole new, different side of it with PR and Woodstock. We're looking forward to it. It's not a good or bad thing. It's just a change, and a change can be a good thing."

Cary-Grove senior Tori Sandstrom is one player who is happy for the change.

"South's our big rival and a great competitor in the conference," she said. "They're a team we usually study and look at. The fact they're not in our regional this year is definitely a step for us, more I think mentally than anything because it's always like 'Ugh, we have to play South.' To play them twice in conference and a good team like them in regionals was always tough."

The other two regionals feeding to the PR sectional will be hosted by DeKalb and Rockford Guilford. Larkin, Huntley and South Elgin will join Rockford Jefferson and the host Barbs at DeKalb while the Guilford regional field includes Harlem, Rockford Auburn, Boylan, Guilford and Hononegah.

Meanwhile, Bartlett has been assigned to the York sectional complex, where seeding will be done for the whole sectional as all the participating schools lie within the IHSA's designated 7-county area.

Included in the field at York will be top teams St. Charles East, Geneva and Wheaton Warrenville South. Geneva, Lake Park, WW South and Willowbrook are the regional hosts.

Class 3A: After taking second in Class 2A last year, Hampshire had aspirations to return to Redbird Arena this season. That goal hasn't changed, it's just gotten a little tougher since the IHSA's decision to bump the Whip-Purs up a class in all sports. A somewhat odd pairing for the Whips has them assigned to the Belvidere regional along with Belvidere North, Rockford East and the host Bucs.

"I'm very confident with where we're going at the Belvidere regional," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse. "I'm never going to lower my expectations for any of my teams. I think this is definitely a team that will be successful."

Whitehouse acknowledged it was nice to see that her team was separated from Big Northern East rival Burlington Central, who the Whips lost to on Wednesday. The Whips and Rockets, separated by 8 miles more or less, wouldn't see each other in the postseason unless they both made it downstate. Hampshire is in the Marian Central sectional complex that feeds to the Grayslake Central supersectional while Burlington is in the Sterling sectional field that feeds to the Freeport supersectional.

"We got sent to the best possible scenario, I think," Whitehouse said.

Burlington's trip to the regional is just one team different from last year. The Rockets are in the Sycamore regional, which includes the host Spartans, Kaneland and Rochelle, which replaces Huntley in the tournament.

Class 2A: St. Edward plays host to a regional within the Forreston sectional complex, but the Green Wave will have to pull off an upset to get out of a regional that includes Harvard, which knocked off Hampshire last week. Aurora Christian, Genoa-Kingston and Woodlands Academy are the other schools assigned to the St. Edward regional.

The other regionals feeding into the Forreston sectional are being held at West Carroll, Sterling Newman and Winnebago.

Class 1A: Westminster Christian will host a regional that includes Universal High of Bridgeview, Elgin Academy, Fox Valley Lutheran, Hinckley-Big Rock and Mooseheart. The Westminster regional is part of the Somonauk sectional complex, where the other regional sites are Putnam County, Serena and North Shore Country Day.

• Jerry Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.