Preview: Fox Valley girls volleyball

Class 2A at Forreston

Tonight's matchups: Oregon (33-9) vs. West Carroll (23-12), 6 p.m.; St. Edward (20-17) vs. Winnebago (22-13), 7 p.m.

Outlook: St. Edward would appear to be in prime position to win a sectional championship against a field that hasn't played the competition the Wave has over the course of the season. First up tonight is Winnebago, which finished just 5-5 in the Big Northern West. The Indians were the top seed in their own regional and knocked off Rockford Lutheran to win their first postseason hardware since 2003. "Part of what makes us a decent team is that we can spread our sets around," said Winnebago coach Brian Lundeen. "The team I saw at the beginning of the season in terms of potential is the team we're starting to become." The Indians are led by 6-foot senior Heather Asplund, who plays outside and middle and who had 14 kills in the regional title match. "Heather can put a ball away," Lundeen said. "She's a great player." Winnebago's other main contributors are 5-10 junior middle Anna Tanaglia and 5-10 junior outside Emily Doty. "I've watched tape on them and we look like very comparable teams," said St. Edward coach Jaime Walton, whose team is after the program's first sectional title since it finished fourth in Class A in 2004. "They've got a real nice outside hitter (Asplund) and they seem to set the right side more than most high school teams. We're used to focusing on shutting down the outsides and that's what we'll focus on with this team." The Green Wave is led at the net by senior standout Kristen Haggenjos (committed to Loyola), who has 283 kills, 34 aces and 178 digs, all team highs. All-around senior setter Katie Yohn, who is committed to Bradley for basketball, has 294 assists to go with 270 kills, a team-high 94 blocks and 160 digs. But not to be forgotten are seniors Molly Kelly (71 kills, 88 blocks) and Tess Barry (54 kills, 65 blocks). Kelly's blocks at the end of Game 3 were a key to the Green Wave upsetting top-seeded Harvard in the St. Edward regional final.

Advancement: The Forreston sectional winner advances to the Byron supersectional on Saturday at 6 p.m. against the Luther North sectional winner.

Class 3A at Marian Central

Tonight's matchups: Marian Central (30-6) vs. Grayslake Central (17-16), 6 p.m.; Crystal Lake Central (33-4) vs. Hampshire (35-2), 7 p.m.

Outlook: While there may be a preliminary match to get things going at Marian Central tonight, all eyes will be on the 7 p.m. battle between Hampshire, second in Class 2A last year, and CL Central, the defending Class 3A state champion. Many of the Whip-Purs and Tigers know each other well, including a trio of juniors - Hampshire twins Amy and Kara Wehrs and CLC libero Julie Jeziorowski, who all play for Club Fusion. "What a great game it's going to be," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse. "I know they're very similar to us. They have two very good outsides they like to go to and a very good libero. But we have quite a few weapons too." CL Central coach Doug Blundy, now in his 39th year at the school and 25th year as the girls volleyball coach, agrees. "I've seen (Hampshire) play and I think we both do things pretty well. If both teams play to their capabilities it will be a very exciting match," said Blundy, who went over the 700-win mark for his career this season. CL Central has two other key players back from last year's state title team - 5-8 senior outside Cori Cooper and 5-11 junior middle Lindsey Anderson, as well as 5-8 senior outside Julia Paulson. "As much as everybody loves to see the hard hitters, defense is the key to the game," Blundy said. Hampshire will again be without sophomore DS/S Leigh Anne Libby, who will miss the rest of the season with a back injury. Since she's been out, Kara Wehrs has been setting 100 percent of the time and the Whips, who have lost only to Harvard and Burlington Central this season, haven't missed a beat. Kara Wehrs has 85 aces, 663 assists, 258 kills, 210 digs and 52 stuff blocks this season while sister Amy has 402 kills, 62 aces, 245 digs and 38 stuff blocks. They are both committed to Kansas. Hampshire has also gotten excellent play this season from junior DS Chessa Osiecki and junior middle Cassie Dumoulin, as well as junior middle Chrissy Heine. "The biggest thing will be for us to just stay consistent," Whitehouse said. "We expect Central to get their kills, we just cant let one or two kills turn into three or four. You have to stay aggressive and avoid unforced errors.

Advancement: The Marian Central sectional winner advances to the Grayslake Central supersectional on Saturday at 1 p.m. to play winner of the Trinity sectional.

Class 3A at Sterling

Tonight's matchups: Burlington Central (31-6) vs. LaSalle-Peru (36-0), 6 p.m.; Freeport (29-4) vs. Morris (7-25), 7 p.m.

Outlook: Burlington Central's task tonight is certainly a challenge -the Rockets will attempt to become the first team this season to beat LaSalle-Peru. The Cavaliers, who lost to Sycamore in the supersectional last year, have only been taken to 3 games twice this season, and not since Sept. 6. One of those 3-game matches was against Sycamore, which BC beat last Saturday to win the Sycamore regional, Central's first regional title since 2006 and just the fourth in program history. "They're a very solid team," said Rockets coach Marv Leavitt. "They have a top setter, very strong outsides and two very good middles. They won (the Minooka tournament) playing some quality teams. I think we play some tougher teams throughout the year but they've beaten everyone they've played. We've got a scouting report on them and we'll try to identify their weaknesses but we'll have to play our game." L-P is led by 6-foot outside Jazzmyne Robbins, who is committed to St. Francis in Joliet. She has 351 kills and averages 9.6 kills per match. Junior middle Kalli Herron (5-11) is another threat and the Cavaliers' quarterback is junior setter Heather Smith, who has 690 assists (18.4 per match). "I don't believe there's any pressure based on our record," said L-P coach Mark Haberkorn. "It's more about the anticipation of doing well in the postseason." Haberkorn, now in his 19th year at L-P and 24th overall, is well aware of BC's two main weapons - junior standout Stephanie Holthus (committed to Northwestern; 438 kills) and senior setter and all-around standout Molly Turk, who is going to Northern Iowa. "They have a Division I outside and are very solid at every position," Haberkorn said. "They'll challenge anyone in this sectional. Both of these teams are good, fundamentally sound teams and it will come down to who plays more consistently. It's just about being consistent and doing what you normally do. We have an advantage in experience and we hope the fact it's in a gym in our conference will also help us."

Advancement: The Sterling sectional winner advances to the Freeport supersectional on Saturday at 6 p.m. to play the winner of the Washington sectional.

Class 4A at Prairie Ridge

Tonight's matchups: Huntley (22-14) vs. Rockford Guilford (21-11), 6 p.m.; Crystal Lake South (30-7) vs. Jacobs (19-18), 7 p.m.

Outlook: Three Fox Valley Conference schools populate this sectional. Huntley won its first regional title in six years with solid defense from freshman Amy Dion and junior Amy Fanella, the consistent hitting of senior middle Allyson Stellmach, even ball distribution by setter Amanda Carroll and all-around tough serving. The Red Raiders will face Guilford, which won its first regional title in three years by rallying from a 17-12 deficit in Game 3 to beat NIC-10 conference rival Boylan. The Vikings are led by middle hitter Leigh Ann Hranka, a 6-foot junior who notched 11 kills in the regional title win. "They have two really good middles a young setter and they did a nice job of beating Boylan in three," Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said. "We're excited that we're there. Hopefully, we can keep going one game at a time." The second semifinal pits Crystal Lake South and first-year coach Jorie Fontana against her alma mater. Fontana played four years of varsity volleyball at Jacobs when current Golden Eagles head coach Lisa Dwyer was a varsity assistant. "It's ironic, it's fun and it's great all at the same time," Fontana said of facing Jacobs and Dwyer this deep into the postseason. "Obviously, I know Lisa Dwyer pretty well, so there's an added personal touch there. It's exciting for me, and I think it adds a little for the girls, too. They know I went to Jacobs, so it gives them a little added emotion." Fontana scouted Jacobs' regional title victory over Cary-Grove and came away impressed. "I saw something I haven't seen before from them," she said. "They just had that fire. They found out what was working against Cary-Grove and they stayed with it. They showed a lot of spunk and spark. We didn't see that the first two times we played them." Jacobs lost twice during the regular season to the Gators, swept each time. "I want us to approach the sectional the same way we walked into the (regional title match) - knowing that we lost to a team twice but fighting with heart and desire," Dwyer said. "If you want it and you think that way, you're going to get it. But we have to perform like we did (Saturday). There's no messing around. We have to pass the ball, serve-receive and be ready to block at the net. And if we're not blocking them, we'll have to pick it up in the backcourt. We'll really have to rely on our defense and serve-receive to win." Crystal Lake South swept two matches from Huntley in early September. Huntley swept Jacobs on Sept. 11.

Advancement: The Prairie Ridge sectional winner advances to the Elgin supersectional on Saturday at 1 p.m. to play the winner of the York sectional.