BC gets past Kaneland
Since coach Todd Weimer arrived at Kaneland, the Knights have yet to take a volleyball game from Burlington Central.
So when the Rockets dropped the second game, 25-22, to the Knights in the opening round of the Class 3A Sycamore regional girls volleyball tournament Thursday, Central knew it was now or never.
"Kaneland didn't want their season to end," Central setter Molly Turk said. "They came out pretty strong. We just laid back a little bit. In the third game, we came out strong."
Central unleashed a 16-6 lead, and rode it to a 25-13 Game 3 victory, taking the match 25-14, 22-25, 25-13.
Led by Turk (21 assists, 11 kills, 6 aces, 6 digs) running the floor and a powerful outside attack from Stephanie Holthus (20 kills, 3 aces, 9 digs) No. 2 seed Central (30-6) advanced to face No. 1 seed Sycamore (28-7) at 6 p.m. on Saturday for the regional championship. The Rockets are looking for the first regional title since 2006, while Sycamore finished third in the state last season after beating BC in the regional final.
The Rockets will hope for a similar performance Saturday from games 1 and 3 as opposed to game 2 Thursday.
After dominating Game 1 with an 8-0 start, Central never really took control in Game 2. After an ace from Erin Heyob (6 kills, 2 aces) brought Kaneland (13-21) within 10-9, Central committed 4 straight hitting errors to go down 13-10.
The teams tied at 16, before back-to-back aces from Lindsay Douglas gave the Knights the lead for good.
"We just brought the intensity," said Kaneland's Jessica Lubic, who finished with 24 assists. "Everyone stepped up their game and wanted to play."
Central brought the game to within 2 points seven times after being down 15-13 but could never close the gap. Four of the final 5 Kaneland points came off Central errors, while the Rockets committed 3 hitting errors in the third game.
"I have to give Kaneland a lot of credit," Central coach Marv Leavitt said. "They just didn't want their season to end. I'm glad we got to play in a Game 3."
The Rockets responded in Game 3 by jumping out to a 9-4 lead on a Holthus tip. The Rockets never trailed after going down 1-0 and closed the match out on an 8-3 run.
Kaneland had Central marked on its map since the Rockets took the Knights in the season opener for both teams. The momentum showed in Game 2.
"I knew 3 weeks ago this was going to go three games," Weimer said. "We've been talking about Burlington Central for a month."