St. Edward stuns Harvard

It wasn't easy, but the St. Edward girls volleyball team ended the season for top-seeded Harvard Saturday at the Class 2A St. Edward regional, taking a tough three-game match 25-22, 21-25, 25-23.

St. Edward (20-17) will take on Winnebago on Tuesday in the 7 p.m. sectional semifinal at Forreston.

After two nip-tuck games, things started rather ominously for the Wave as the Hornets (25-9) quickly took a 4-0 lead in Game 3 while Kristen Haggenjos was carded for arguing a net violation call, which seemed to rattle the Green Wave.

"I got called in the net, but I knew I didn't go over," Haggenjos said. "It was just one of those calls that hurt us mentally."

A couple of aces from Margie Haggenjos and an unforced error on the Hornets allowed the Wave to tie the game at 9-9 for the first time.

The Wave eventually took the lead for the first time at 15-12 on a 4-point run that included a Katie Ayello ace. The two teams traded the lead five more times with pressure mounting on each point.

"These girls are so intense out there," said St. Edward coach Jaime Walton. "I do not want to take that away from them. They fight for every point."

Trailing 22-19, the Wave scored 4 points on a Katie Yohn kill and three unforced errors to take the 1-point lead. The Hornets tied it up at 23-23, but 2 block kills by Molly Kelly gave the Wave the game and match win.

"I just knew they were going to try and tip me there," Kelly said. "I knew I had to get up and block them and it just felt really good when I saw that last one hit the ground."

Leading the Wave were Yohn (18 kills, 14 digs, 13 assists, 6 blocks), Kristen Haggenjos (13 kills, 8 digs), Margie Haggenjos (13 digs, 3 aces), Rachael Varley (18 assists) and Kelly (6 blocks).