Trojans, Eagles advance to final
With Cary-Grove senior standout Allison Straumann out with a severe ankle sprain, junior setter Abbey Heredia knew she had to increase her productivity on the court.
Heredia, a 3-year starter and captain, got the job done.
Dishing out 16 assists with 9 digs and 3 aces, Heredia was the main force behind the top-seeded Trojans' 25-9, 25-15 win over No. 5 Streamwood in a semifinal match of the Class 4A Dundee-Crown regional Thursday in Carpentersville.
The Trojans (31-5) play second-seeded Jacobs in the title match Saturday at 1 p.m. Straumann's status is questionable.
"We know Allison is a great player so everybody has to pick up their game," said Heredia. "We have a brand new lineup and it took a few points to get going. We played consistent and we were able to run some more complicated sets as the match went on. We were nervous early, but settled down."
Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis praised Heredia's efforts.
"Abbey is a good leader and she was really strong in that area tonight with Allison out," said Langanis. "She got us going with some strong sets and some strong serving."
Sophomores Kelly Lamberti and Kayla Klinger were the recipients of Heredia's pinpoint sets with 9 kills apiece. Colleen Hargrove and Colleen Smith tallied 5 kills each.
The upset-minded Sabres (9-27) started fast, opening a 6-2 lead after a kill by Betsy Holman.
But, the Trojans dominated the rest of the game. With Klinger, Lamberti and Tori Sandstrom controlling the net with 3 kills each, Cary-Grove went on a 12-1 run and turned a 4-point deficit into a 7-point 14-7 lead.
The Trojans scored the final 8 points of the game capped by a kill by Lamberti to win Game 1.
Similar to the opening game, the Sabres hung tough early in Game 2. Nursing a narrow 8-6 lead, the Trojans broke the game open with 9 straight points. Klinger's 3 kills propelled Cary-Grove to a 17-6 lead.
The Sabres didn't challenge the Trojans as Cary-Grove won the match on a kill by Lamberti.
Holman led Streamwood with 11 kills.
"They had much more experience than us," said Streamwood coach Kevin Kwon. "They run a very quick offense and they just attacked us. I was just glad to get the opportunity to play them."
Streamwood d. Dundee-Crown: D-C defeated the Sabres in 3 games to open the season, but Streamwood won when it counted.
Led by 17 kills from Holman, Streamwood defeated D-C 25-27, 25-19, 25-21. Stephanie Thorson paced the Chargers with 10 kills.
Jacobs d. Elgin: In a quick 23 minutes, the second-seeded Golden Eagles rapidly disposed of third seeded Elgin 25-18, 25-11. Lauren Pigatto had 9 kills for the winners.
At Woodstock: Erin Johnson had 9 kills and Katie Trayser added 8 as Crystal Lake South (28-7) rolled into the Class 4A regional finals with a 25-12, 25-12 win over McHenry. Lena Mack had 12 digs and Jordan Guida added 23 assists for the Gators, who play Prairie Ridge Saturday for the regional title.
"I was real proud with the way the girls played," said South coach Jorie Fontana. "It's a great first step into this postseason."
At Westminster Christian: After receiving a forfeit win from Chicago Bridgeview, Westminster Christian (15-15) came back to beat Chicago Waldorf 25-13, 23-25, 25-13 in the Class 1A regional at Westminster. Jessica Benson had 9 kills, 5 digs and 3 aces, Hannah Graves added 20 assists, 3 kills, 5 digs and 3 aces, and Sarah Rodgers had 5 kills and 7 digs to lead the Warriors (15-15), who play top seed Hinckley-Big Rock for the regional title on Saturday.
"The girls played well and worked through the game," said Westminster coach Guy Lum. "The girls have grown and prospered as the year has gone on."
John Radtke contributed to this report.