Daugherty, Hoffman Estates serve up a winner
With her Hoffman Estates girls volleyball team trailing 20-18 in Game 3 against visiting Schaumburg, Vanessa Daugherty could not have a picked a better time to produce the longest serving streak of her career.
The 5-foot-8 senior defensive specialist was on fire as she rifled 7 straight rockets, including 2 aces, to give the host Hawks a dramatic 25-23, 15-25, 25-20 victory in the Mid-Suburban West.
"I'll hit floaters, too, but my regular serve is just as strong so I went with it," said Daugherty, who finished 12-of-13 at the line with 3 aces. "My heart said go for it. So I just gave it my all on every serve."
Her bullet-like strikes kept the Saxons off balance and helped improve the Hawks' record to 7-5 and 3-1 in them MSL.
Daugherty also had a couple of superb digs, including one on a play which appeared was over.
But Daugherty somehow got the ball over the net while down on the floor near the referee's stand.
"Vanessa had a phenomenal match," said Hawks coach Dan Hutton. "She had a couple of great digs. I'm very proud of her. She had told me a few days ago in practice she wanted to work on her serve. She worked to be more aggressive and it paid off."
Seniors Lauren La Massé (7 kills) and Kelsey Lukowicz (6) paced the Hawks' attack, which was set by Stephanie Schwarz (16 assists) and Kelsey Pellus (5 assists).
Jada Stotts was also a force at the net for the Hawks with 5 blocks.
Hoffman won Game 1 when La Massé made back -to-back kills with Lukowicz serving for the 25-23 final.
A kill by Lukowicz had tied the game at 23 after Schaumburg's Alyssa Saklak (10 kills) came up with a nifty backward over-the-head kill to put the Saxons ahead.
Schaumburg was in full command for most of Game 2, surging to a 20-8 lead behind seven straight service points by Sara Travis.
A block by Emily Young (13 kills, 9 assist, 10 digs) made it 24-12, before Hoffman survived 3 game points with a kill by La Massé, a hitting error by Schaumburg and block by Stotts.
In Game 3, Schaumburg built an 11-5 lead before Hoffman made its rally. Back-to-back blocks by La Massé gave the Hawks their first lead at 15-14.
The Saxons got to their final point on a service point by Young for the 20-16 lead. La Massé's tip made it 20-17 when Daugherty stepped to the line.
"Everyone was so motivated for us in that game," she said. "That motivation just kept me going when I was serving. We really needed to win this match, especially being at home. I'm glad I finished it like that."
Jenny Dolan contributed 13 digs for the Saxons (3-8, 1-3) and was 14-of-16 serving with 3 aces and 17-of-18 passing.
Conant d. Barrington: Conant (5-6, 1-3) received 7 kills from Kristin Perschon and 5 from Allie Bauch in a 26-14, 25-9 victory.
Chelsea Vanicek and Taylor Levitt had 2 aces for the Cougars while Bauch had 1.
Vanicek (8-of-8) and Bauch (11-of-11) were the top serve receivers for the winners.
The Fillies stand at 3-8 and 1-3.
Elk Grove d. Buffalo Grove: Elk Grove (7-5, 3-1) featured a balanced attack in a 25-22, 25-22 win as Leah Miller (7 kills), Jessica Condon (5), Amanda Gattone (5), Mel Jarocz (5) and Tara Braceros (4) led the way. Condon handed out 18 assists.
Buffalo Grove (4-12, 0-4) was led on attack by Alanna Zawlocki (7 kills).
Palatine d. Fremd: Palatine (5-6, 3-1) moved into a first-place tie with Fremd and Hoffman Estates in the MSL West by handing Fremd its first conference loss 25-14, 25-16, 25-22.
Kaley Sierawski (9 kills), Jenny Solberg (8) and Allison Richter (4) led the Pirates attack while Hannah Guth had 2 blocks. Kelli Starrenburg delivered 4 aces and Sydney Wiedemann collected 9 digs.
Fremd (8-4, 3-1) was led by senior Colleen Andersen (7 kills) and junior Alex Messner (4) while Kayla Price handed out 14 assists and Jessi Wiedemann collected 3 blocks.
Prospect d. Wheeling: The Knights (4-2, 3-1) posted a 25-19, 25-19 triumph has Sarah Hunt, Rachel Hunt and Mariel Sobey all had 7 kills. Sam Mangrum added 4 while Danielle Siwik and Abby Homuth (4) directed the offense.
Hersey d. Rolling Meadows: Led by Katie Lill's 7 kills, Hersey (11-1, 4-0) remained in first place in the MSL East with a 25-15, 25-19 triumph. Senior Joanna Hoffman handed out 19 assists and freshman Abby Fesl had 2 for the Huskies.
Meadows (2-10, 1-3) was led by Samantha and Jackie Rosinski, who each had a pair of kills.
St. Viator d. Nazareth: The Lions (8-1, 2-0) received 12 kills from senior Christina Brinkman in a 24-26, 26-24, 25-20 East Suburban Catholic triumph. Junior Carlyn Clevenger handed out 35 assists while other attack leaders were Emily Leazer (9 kills), Mary Calov (9), Kelly McConnell (7) and Kelly Travaglio (4).