Jacobs wins regional championship
The girls from Jacobs dug nearly everything the Cary-Grove volleyball team threw at them Saturday. As a result the Golden Eagles will find themselves in unfamiliar digs this Tuesday.
Jacobs advanced to sectional play for the first time since 2003 by rallying to beat Cary-Grove 19-25, 25-17, 25-21 for the Class 4A Dundee-Crown regional title Saturday afternoon.
Jacobs (19-18) will face Fox Valley Conference Valley Division rival Crystal Lake South, which is coached by Jacobs grad Jorie Fontana, in a Prairie Ridge sectional semifinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
There were heroes for Jacobs at every turn Saturday. Senior setter Erica Liss distributed the ball evenly and the Eagles received balanced contributions from Lauren Pigatto (12 kills, 17 digs), Becky DePaepe (12 digs), Amy Cavanaugh (12 digs, 7 kills), Taylor Lesner (7 kills), Stacie Weinert (18 digs, 7 kills), Brittany White (4 kills) and libero Klaudia Velasquez (15 digs).
"This is the best volleyball moment of my life," said Pigatto. "This is awesome. I'm just so happy. It felt so good to win a regional and play the way we can."
No. 2 Jacobs had taken No. 1 Cary-Grove (31-7) to a third game in two matches during the regular season, but the Golden Eagles lost both contests to the eventual Valley Division co-champions.
Despite taking the court without Iowa-bound senior Allison Straumann, who missed her second straight match with a sprained ankle, the Trojans breezed through Game 1. Sophomore Colleen Smith served 7 straight points, including 2 aces, to stake Cary-Grove to a 13-4 lead.
But Jacobs stormed back in Game 2, breaking free from a 9-9 tie with a 7-1 run spearheaded by a wicked smash from Cavanaugh on the right side, a Pigatto block kill and a swing by Lesner that deflected off the Cary-Grove block.
Game 3 was tied 15-15 until the Golden Eagles ran off 4 straight points on 2 kills by Cavanaugh - one a tip, the other a left-handed spike - a C-G hitting error and an ace by Velasquez.
The Trojans pulled within 22-20, thanks to a pair of unreturnable spikes by sophomore Kelly Lamberti (15 kills), but Jacobs closed out the match with a Weinert tip, an ace by Liss and Weinert's kill at match point.
"In the beginning (of Game 3) we were playing point for point, but at the end we just couldn't pull through with it," Cary-Grove setter Abbey Heredia said. "They just came out ready to play in those last two games and we just couldn't fight back."
Weinert pounced on a Cary-Grove dig that drifted over the net and hit the match-winner past the Trojans' back line, setting off a wild celebration on the Jacobs side of the net. "I was just praying it went in, and I was so relieved when it finally did," Weinert said.
"This is awesome," Cavanaugh said. "I can't even catch my breath right now. This is the greatest feeling in the world."
A Valley Division title and 31 wins were of little solace after the match to the Trojans, who were denied their second straight regional title.
"Obviously, it's frustrating to end a season in that manner," Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis said. "Jacobs played fantastic volleyball tonight. They were digging our hitters up, and they didn't make anything easy. We just didn't have the firepower to respond.
"We had absolutely no blocking at the net, and that's usually one of our strengths, putting up a pretty good block. But they kept hitting around us and they were running a nice offense. We were putting all the pressure on our defensive players to play the entire backcourt, plus pick up tips with absolutely no block. That's tough to do at this level."