Viator stuns Lake Zurich

The Lake Zurich girls volleyball team entered Saturday's Class 4A regional final at Libertyville with 33 wins.

And after beating a .500 St. Viator team in Game 1, the Bears were well on their way to a berth in the sectional semifinals.

But St. Viator refused to quit, rallying for a stunning 21-25, 25-17, 26-24 triumph.

"The girls fought all the way to the end and did everything we worked on all year," said Lions coach Charlie Curtain. "They were aggressive. They did everything. They never gave up and were willing to fight. They knew they had it in them and they just had to come out and do it."

St. Viator (19-18) will meet Fremd in the Barrington sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Lake Zurich finished 33-4.

"We didn't perform and we didn't do the things that got us 33 wins," said Bears coach Matt Aiello. "I give St. Viator credit because I think they played better than even they thought they could play and we didn't finish."

According to Aiello, his team had 25 unforced errors.

"At the end, (St. Viator) just outplayed us," he said.

Game 3 was tied 24-24 when Christina Brinkman slammed a kill to give St. Viator the lead. Sophomore Carlyn Clevenger then served an ace.

Clevenger, who was promoted from the sophomore team late in the regular season, served 14 of 14 with 3 aces.

"Assistant coach Jimmy Neill gave me some zones in practice and I had been really trying to hit them," Clevenger said. " I just hit them today."

Clevenger was also 51-of-56 setting with 15 assists. Another sophomore, Emily Leazer, clinched the second game by serving 4 straight aces.

Senior Alissa Bozza served 8 of 10 with an ace.

"They bring me in just to serve which is like a high-pressure situation so it is crucial that I hit all my zones," Bozza said. "I get so nervous when I go in there. They don't notice but when I'm serving I'm shaking. But I know I have to hit every single zone."

Leazer also had 9 kills, Brinkman added 7, and Stephanie Rountree collected 6 digs.

- Irving Solomon

Conant d. Warren: Conant played like the veteran squad it is at Warren, and for the second straight year, the Cougars are regional champions.

Conant overcame early deficits in each game on its way to a 25-20, 25-16 victory. The Cougars advance to play Barrington or Hersey in a sectional semifinal.

Conant improved to 29-7, while Warren dropped to 21-14.

Warren led 8-3 at one point in the first game and 13-9 in the second. The Cougars' ability to win the longer points helped them turn the momentum around.

"After we win a big rally, it gets us all fired up," said senior libero Lynette Mueller, who had a match-high 17 digs. "We started to play more like a team."

In the first game, Conant took the lead for good at 15-14. From there, the Cougars ran off eight consecutive points. In the second game, there was a stretch where they won 15 of 17 points.

Even before those runs, the Cougars remained confident.

"We worked hard for this the whole year," said senior setter Tricia Kutrumanes, who had 17 assists. "We knew this wouldn't be our last game of the season.

Conant senior outside hitter Katherine Hozian had a match-high 7 kills. Senior Mandy Larsen and senior Kelsey Paulson contributed 6 and 5 kills, respectively.

"We had a real balanced attack and were able to keep (points) alive," Conant coach Peggy Scholten said.

Conant's hitting put consistent pressure on Warren's back row.

The Cougars were able to hit right at senior setter Lindsay Goad, which disrupted the Blue Devils' offense.

Goad (10 assists) still managed to play her usual solid all-around game.

- Bob Gosman

Hersey d. Barrington: Hersey knew exactly what to do.

The Huskies uncovered the weaknesses of the young visiting Barrington Fillies to win the Hersey regional final.

The Huskies posted a 25-16, 25-16 victory and were almost flawless.

"We followed the game plan," said Huskies coach Nancy Lill. "The serving was excellent, we had several hitters that were hot and the block was very effective. However, I feel we could have played better. We weren't making smart shots and forcing things at times."

The Fillies battled, and the Huskies had trouble finishing games.

With Huskies' leads of 19-8 lead in both games, the Broncos had two pushes of 6-0 and 7-0 runs to cut the advantage to manageable deficits.

"It was fun to see the girls make some runs, being a young team and growing every game," said Fillies coach Christopher Bronke, whose team will graduate two seniors. "We had a few chances, but they had many clean contacts. We talked about this game a lot and we ran into a better team, at least for tonight."

Bronke praised Hersey senior setter Shelly Mueller (14 of 14 3 aces).

The Huskies' Katie Lill (5 digs, 8-of-9 serving, 2 aces, 4 kills) and Jamie Welter (5 kills, 4 blocks) also stood out.

The Mid-Suburban League champions advanced to the Barrignton sectional semifinal, where they will meet Conant on Tuesday in a rematch of the MSL title game played two weeks ago.

"We really worked together and got a good run of points," Katie Lill said. "We feel good going into it (sectional). Last year, we beat Conant in the regular season, and then lost to them in sectionals. This time around, we are hoping to put last year behind us."

-Jonathan Jones

Fremd d. Hoffman Estates: To win its fourth regional title in the last six years, Fremd had to accomplish something extremely difficult: defeat the same team for the third straight time.

Much-improved Hoffman Estates, which fell to the Vikings twice in the Mid-Suburban League regular season but came in fresh off an upset of fifth-seed Elk Grove, gave Fremd all it could handle.

But every time the Hawks made a run, the Vikings had the answer in a 25-21, 25-17 victory in Buffalo Grove.

"This was exciting, it's a big win,"said Fremd senior Kaitlyn Pascus (4 kills, 4 aces.)

"We knew they'd be a different team from when we played them earlier. Our goal was to have positive energy, high energy, and maintain it from the beginning of the game."

Senior outside hitter Stephanie Alesia led Fremd on attack with 5 kills, while Alexandrea Messner contributed with 4 putaways and Natalie Bruck had 4 digs and 4 kills.

"Our serve receive and defense was right on today," Bruck said.

Senior outside hitter Alex Wulbecker led Hoffman Estates with 5 kills on 17-of-19 hitting, and sophomore Jada Stotts had 10 digs.

"We've struggled against them all year," said Hoffman coach Dan Hutton, "and they played flawlessly today."

Hoffman closed to within 21-19 in Game 1 and had a chance to get closer, but a well-placed tip by Pascus spurred Fremd.

The fourth-seeded Vikings ran out early in Game 2, helped by an ace from Colleen Andersen, then held off a late surge and closed out the match behind a Pascus spike and a Hawks hitting error.

"Dan (Hutton) has done an outstanding job with Hoffman," said Fremd coach Curt Pinley. "We respected them, and they played a fantastic match. They made us play our best game to beat them. We gave them a run of 3 points in the first game, and after that we never let them get more than 2 points in a row. At this stage of the season, that's something you've got to do to be successful."

- Bill Esbrook