Saints hope they are starting another long run
St. Charles East is laying the groundwork for another extended postseason run.
Willowbrook, on the other hand, is alive and kicking after avenging a regular-season loss to Glenbard West.
The two will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. for the championship of the Class 4A Willowbrook girls volleyball regional in Villa Park.
The Saints, third last year in the inaugural year four-class state tournament, never trailed, nor were they tied, in breezing past West Chicago 25-16 and 25-15 Thursday night.
West Chicago won its fifth match of the season, turning back Proviso West (13-17) in the quarterfinal play-in match 25-11 and 25-14.
West Chicago freshman Julia Conard led the Wildcats with 21 kills in the two matches.
"We had a tough season," West Chicago coach Kris Hasty said. "We were respectable (against St. Charles East)."
But the Saints had too many weapons for West Chicago to mount a corrective counterattack.
State veterans Jacqui Seidel and Caroline Niski were the primary beneficiaries of the 24 assists handed out by the Saints' all-state candidate Laura Homann.
Seidel opened the first game with a kill and then proceeded to serve 5 straight points to give the Saints all the breathing room they would need.
"We're focusing on setting the tone for the rest of the season," said Seidel, who finished with 7 kills and 9 digs. "We have so many good hitters in the front row when I'm serving that I try to keeping serving aggressively so they can keep hitting."
West Chicago (5-30) never came closer than four against the top-seeded Saints the rest of the first game.
The Saints' reserves finished out the contest as Michelle Gross and Taylor Gray ended the Wildcats' season on kills sandwiched by yet another winner by Seidel.
Niski and her younger sister Meghan added 16 combined kills for the Saints.
"In the postseason everyone starts out 0-0," Caroline Niski said. "I am really happy to help the team in any aspect of the game."
The host Warriors reversed a late 7-point deficit to eke out the first game, only to see Glenbard West not repeat its mistakes in a one-sided second-game victory.
But the Hilltoppers had few answers for Willowbrook standout Josie Hopkins, who led the Warriors to the title tilt with match highs of 14 kills and 9 digs.
Willowbrook, the ninth-seed, dispatched No. 8 Glenbard West 25-23, 14-25 and 25-20 to improve to 20-15.
Glenbard West ended its season at 22-13.
"We let them off the hook," Glenbard West coach Peter Mastrandea said. "When you're ahead 20-13 (in the first game), it's your responsibility to close out the game. It shouldn't have gone three (games)."
Willowbrook closed out the first game on a 12-3 run; Caitlin Hopkins had consecutive kills to fuel the run, and the junior had a block-kill to bring the Warriors to within 22-21.
Josie Hopkins later gave Willowbrook its first lead of the game at 24-23 with a kill, and setter Sarah McCarthy completed the comeback with another kill.
The Hilltoppers rebounded behind a dominant run by Bridget Lawson and Amy Kendall to force a third game, but the Hopkins' one-two punch prevailed in the deciding game.
The twins were the Warriors' catalysts as Josie in particular had half of her 14 kills in the final game.
"We get down, but we trust each other that we can turn it around," Josie Hopkins said. "We all want it so badly. A lot of (emotion) is the energy we get from our fans."
"The crowd got me pumped up," added Caitlin.
"(Josie) is our go-to player," Willowbrook coach Sue Bower said. "Even on a bad day she is good."
Amelia Weyer capped an 11-4 run for Willowbrook in the final game as the Warriors broke free from the last of seven ties at 13-13 to force match point.