CLS downs Cary-Grove in Valley; Hawks nip Sabres
There was no margin for error for Crystal Lake South.
The Gators realized if there was any chance for a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division girls volleyball championship a win against Cary-Grove Thursday night was a must.
South, which lost to the Trojans in conference play earlier in the season, got the job done in convincing fashion.
Needing only 35 minutes, South disposed of the Trojans 25-17, 25-16 at Gator Alley. Both teams are 7-1 in conference play with 2 matches to go.
"We were mentally focused and ready to play tonight," said Gators coach Jorie Fontana. "We had a great practice last night and that good feeling carried over tonight.
The Gators, 22-6 overall, played with a purpose from start to finish.
With senior standout Erin Johnson crushing 3 kills, the Gators cruised to an early 8-3 lead.
The Trojans (28-5 overall) battled back and got to within a point of the Gators, 18-17, after a kill by Allison Straumann. That would be the last point the Trojans would score.
Courtesy of 2 kills by Johnson, Caitlin Schumacher and Katie Trayser, South closed out the game with 7 straight points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Gators continued the momentum from Game 1 and started Game 2 with a 11-4 lead. A kill by Brittany Atkinson gave South an early 7-point lead.
The Trojans showed a pulse and responded with 5 consecutive points to slice the Gator lead to 11-9.
But South didn't let the Trojans get any closer. A 9-1 run keyed by 3 kills from Trayser gave the Gators a comfortable 20-10 lead. A kill by Johnson gave Crystal Lake South the game and match.
Johnson led South with 7 kills while Trayser added 6. Setter Jordan Guida dished out 18 assists.
"We were really excited to play tonight," said Johnson. "We were mentally and physically ready to play. We knew we had to win and we really pushed hard tonight."
Kelly Lamberti paced Cary-Grove with 9 kills. The Trojans played without senior hitter Emily Dalton, who missed the match with bronchitis.
"This was a humiliating night for us," said Patty Langanis. "Win or lose, we look forward to playing three tough games against South. We played on the defensive and South played like a team that had to win. We shot ourselves in the foot and made way too many mistakes."
Bartlett d. Streamwood: Bartlett girls volleyball coach Brandon Mueller ran down a list of things his team did poorly Thursday against Streamwood.
No communication, poor defense and bad passing were a few, but the Hawks overcame the miscues to beat the Sabres, 25-15, 19-25, 25-22, in Upstate Eight Conference play in Bartlett.
"I'm just really disappointed the way we came out in the second and third games," Mueller said. "We weren't talking. We let balls fall. Our back-row defense was awful. We were late defensively today."
The good news is Bartlett has some time to fix those issues before the postseason begins Oct. 30.
The miscues did not show up in the opening game against Streamwood. The Hawks (17-8, 6-3 UEC) cruised to a Game 1 victory, capped by an Emily Hayes kill, and held an early lead in the Game 2 before Bartlett started committing the mistakes Mueller was talking about. While the Hawks began to struggle, the Sabres (7-21, 3-7) began picking up their game, rallying for a Game 2 win.
"We hung in there with a good team," Sabres coach Kevin Kwon said. "This should be a confidence booster."
Bartlett led early in the deciding game, but couldn't pull away. The Sabres trailed by as many as 5 before tying the game at 15-15, 19-19, 20-20 and 21-21. Each time the Hawks scored the next point to regain the lead. With the score 21-21, a Sabres' serving error gave the Hawks a 22-21 lead. Another hitting error and a kill by Alyssa Cazzato on an overpass gave Bartlett match point. On the second match point, Hayes put down her 12th kill off the Streamwood block for the victory.
Carly Sahagian also had 12 kills for Bartlett. Cazzato finished with 28 assists.
Betsy Holman led the Sabres with 10 kills and 3 blocks. Adriana Salgado had 18 assists and 3 aces.
- Brian Schaumburg
Other games: South Elgin (7-17, 3-6) dominated two games for a 25-12, 25-23 Upstate Eight Conference victory over East Aurora. Christie Cortese (4 kills, dig), Hayley Bradley (6 kills) and Tara Bradley (2 kills, 20 assists, 3 digs) led the Storm attack... Despite a solid showing from Lindsey Morrow (8 digs), Elgin (12-11, 4-5) fell to St. Charles North in two Upstate Eight games by scores of 25-11, 25-10... Dundee-Crown (12-10, 2-6) fell to McHenry in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in two games (25-13, 25-18)... Behind the efforts of Sarah Mounger (5 aces, 5 kills), Samantha Pfortmiller (9 assists, 2 kills), Denie Short (4 kills, 3 aces) and Tegan Pfortmiller (3 kills, 2 assists), Fox Valley Lutheran Academy (7-8) defeated Faith Lutheran 25-10, 25-15... Jacobs (13-15, 4-3) tacked on another Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory defeating Woodstock 25-18, 25-21. Leading the Golden Eagle attack were Amy Cavanaugh (12 digs, 2 aces), Erica Liss (14 assists, 5 digs), Klaudia Velazquez (10 digs) and Stacie Weinert (2 kills, 9 digs)... Huntley (17-10, 6-2) dropped a tough one to Crystal Lake Central in Fox Valley Conference Fox Division action. While Ashley Smith (6 kills) and Amy Dion (13 digs) led Red Raider efforts, they lost in two games by scores of 25-23 and 25-22... Due to a scheduling miscue, Westminster Christian (10-12) got a win via the forfeit as Willows Academy had no game scheduled for the night...