Hampshire knocks off defending state champs

The results have been tallied and it's official: Hampshire is playing pretty good volleyball.

No recounts necessary. The Whip-Purs defeated defending Class 3A state champion Crystal Lake Central 27-25, 25-19 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Marian Central sectional Tuesday in Woodstock.

The Whip-Purs (36-2) will face the host Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Thursday for the sectional title and a spot in Saturday's Grayslake Central supersectional.

Trailing 19-11 in Game 1, the Whip-Purs rallied for the win, then controlled the second game from the start as last year's Class 2A runner-up continue their successful transition to Class 3A.

Amy Wehrs' 12 kills helped Hampshire keep the pressure on. Kara Wehrs transitioned seamlessly between setting and hitting, with 9 kills and 14 assists. She also had 3 aces.

The Whips announced to the rest of Class 3A that they have arrived.

"Stepping up to 3A and then defeating last year's champs just felt awesome," said Kara Wehrs.

After 2 aces by Central's Cori Cooper and a hitting error, the Whips trailed 19-11 in Game 1. But the Whips closed out the game on a 16-6 run.

They still trailed 25-24, but a kill by Allison Bunkowske tied it up. With Jen Hubbe serving, a hard kill by Amy Wehrs put the Whips ahead, and a net violation on the Tigers (33-5) provided the 2-point margin.

"In the first game we had a little bit of jitters," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse. "But we started to calm down, and to be able to come back in that first game gave us all the momentum."

As they have all season, the Whips came out swinging.

"If we lost it was the end of our season," said Kara Wehrs. "We want to just keep playing. We love volleyball and we didn't want it to end."

Chessa Osiecki had 17 digs as the Whips seemed to get to everything.