Neuqua escapes
For the first night of volleyball playoffs, you couldn't ask for any better.
Rivals who split during the season. A full gym, with dueling student sections.
Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley didn't disappoint.
In a match that was sloppy at times early but not short on drama and defense, No. 6 seed Neuqua Valley advanced to the championship of the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley regional with a 25-22, 26-24 win on Thursday in Aurora.
Neuqua Valley (22-9) will play No. 3 seed Naperville Central, a 25-8, 25-22 winner over Downers Grove North in a 1 p.m. regional final Saturday.
"To play Waubonsie first round, I mean when does that ever happen?" Neuqua Valley coach Kelly Simon asked. "We knew it was going to be a competitive game. We both got what we wanted in that both teams came out on both cylinders, battled and we had a great match."
The Wildcats were relentless in digging out Waubonsie Valley attacks. Sam Skryd had 15 digs, Maggie Welsh and Rachel Quackenbush 11 and Nikki Federico 10. Couple it with Waubonsie Valley blocking well at the net, and there were many long, wild rallies.
"I felt like I read the hitters better than I usually do," Skryd said. "I know most of the hitters on that team, so I knew their shots. That helped a lot."
"They are a tough team to get the ball down on," Waubonsie Valley coach Kristen Stuart said.
Nerves may have caught up with both sides in Game 1. The two teams combined for 19 errors. With the teams tied for the 12th time at 19-19, Quackenbush served up an ace and Beth Blackman had a tip kill to give the Wildcats a 21-19 lead. An Alana Jones kill pulled Waubonsie Valley within a point, but Neuqua Valley never relinquished the lead. Federico put down a kill at game point.
Neuqua Valley carried the momentum into Game 2, hustling their way to a 15-5 lead at one point. Waubonsie Valley came all the way back to tie it at 22-22 on a Kari Galen kill and tied it again at 24-24 on a Nicole Salmon kill. But a Warriors passing error gave Neuqua Valley back the lead and Emily Tulloch pushed down a kill for the match.
"I'm extremely proud of my girls. That is the best total match we've played all year," Stuart said. "Both sides played great."
Salmon had 8 kills, 2 blocks and 11 digs for Waubonsie Valley (21-13), Jones 4 kills and Galen 4 kills and 3 blocks. Federico had 8 kills, Quackenbush 6 and Skryd and Hope Baumgartner 10 assists each for Neuqua Valley.
Naperville Central (31-5) looked strong in its first match at full strength since the Mizuno Cup three weeks ago. Since then, outside Meghan Bray missed 13 matches and setter Kelsey Hoey 10 with injuries. Heck, even head coach Brie Isaacson missed a couple practices this week after giving birth to her fourth child on Monday.
"We're still working through it," Isaacson said, "but we're getting there. For us having everybody back gives us our best chance."
Emily McGee had 7 kills and 8 digs, Nicole Ramey 4 kills, Bray 3 kills, Jill Fields 6 digs and Hoey 15 assists for the Redhawks. For Downers Grove North (14-22), who beat Bolingbrook 25-17, 25-23 earlier in the evening, Brittay Baarstad and Taylor Kasal each had 4 kills.