Many winners as MSL volleys for good cause
The entire Mid-Suburban League volleyball landscape was a pink-out Tuesday night as all the teams sought to earn money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Each school did its part to try and assist breast cancer awareness.
At Prospect, even the Knights' mascot had pink ribbons in his armor.
There were pink balloons. The officials wore pink shirts. The players were special blue "Volley for the Cure" shirts. The Knights' players wore pink shorts and socks.
Money was donated and raffle prizes were held as the crowd of more than 600 provided a festive atmosphere in the Jean Walker Field House. Approximately, $6,800 was raised for the cure, according to Knights coach Mike Riedy.
There was also a 25-16, 25-12 victory for the Knights (15-6, 6-2), which kept them in the second place in the Mid-Suburban East behind Hersey.
"When we started the match, I told the girls they'd taken care of everything for the "Volley for the Cure" and now it was time to focus on the match," Riedy said. "And for the most part they did."
Senior Rachel Hunt led the winners with 8 kills while juniors Sarah Hunt and Mariel Sobey each had 5.
Maureen O'Keefe, who served for the final ace of the match, finished with a team-high 7 digs and 10-of-10 serve receiving while Danielle Siwick (13 assists) and Abby Homuth (5 assist) set the offense.
Junior Sarah Hunt and sophomore Maureen Benson each had 4 blocks.
"We were really pumped up for this match," said O'Keefe, who also served 2 aces. "'Volley for the Cure' is always something we look forward to."
"Its feels great to be able to help out for this cause," said Knights senior Lindsey Pickle. "Our adrenaline was so high right from the start. It's so rewarding to see all these people come and support breast cancer awareness."
The Bison got 3 kills apiece from Alanna Zawlocki and Paige Smith while the defense was sparked by Angie Lombardo (7 digs) and Molly Jackson (4).
"I thought Angie played really well," said Bison coach Marianne O'Shea. "She only plays back row but she was 4-of-4 hitting. Molly (Jackson, who was 9-of-10 serving with 3 aces) played real well."
Jessica Ray's 6 digs led the Bison while Stacey Jorda was 10-of-11 with 2 kills.
"We just couldn't seem to get anything going," O'Shea said.
But she liked what she saw going on with the evening's festivities.
"Prospect did a great job," she said. "It's been about a month's effort getting everything prepared - the new shirts with the girls numbers on them, the raffle and everything else. There were a lot of people behind the scenes getting this together. It was a very festive atmosphere and at the same time we were honoring a great cause."
Elk Grove d. Rolling Meadows: Stephanie Maday (5 kills) Melanie Jarosz (4), Amanda Gattone (4) and Leah Miller (4) led host Elk Grove (13-8, 5-3) in the 25-21, 25-17 MSL East victory.
Olivia Roback was 17-of-18 serve receiving while Jessica Mueller collected 9 digs. Jessica Condon collected 17 assists.
Rolling Meadows (6-14, 3-5) was led on attack by Samantha Rosinski (4 kills) while teammate Emily Nelms had 8 assists and 10 digs.
Palatine d. Conant: The visiting Pirates earned a 25-15, 25-13 MSL West victory as Kaley Sierawski (6 kills), Hannah Guth (5) and Allison Richter (5) led the attack set by Jenny Solberg (15 assists) and Laura Kluk (6).
Solberg also had 8 digs while Sydney Wiedemann, Sierawski and Meehan each had 5. Conant is 10-11 and 2-6.
Barrington d. Hoffman Estates: Barrington (10-11, 5-3) won for the 10th time in 13 matches by posting a 25-10, 29-27 MSL West decision. The visiting Fillies were led on attack by Emily Harris (10 kills), Mallory Combs (7) and Peyton Lang (4). Madison Lang handed out 23 assists while Tanya Mookerji (13 digs) and Peyton Lang (7) led the defense. Joe Johnson served 3 aces for the Fillies. Hoffman stands at 4-4 in the West.
Hersey d. Wheeling: Host Hersey (21-1, 8-0) clinched at least a tie for first in the MSL East with a 25-15, 25-22 triumph as Katie Lill and Jamie Welter each put down a match-high 9 kills for the Huskies. Maddie Swan had 6 and Christina Solans 5 while Joanna Hoffman handed out 27 assists. Lill and Solans also had 9 digs while Alicia Witte had 8 and Becca Haraf 7.
The Wildcats (8-17, 1-7) received 4 kills from Kelsie Jurik while Bianca Szafarowicz had 7 digs, 2 kills and an ace. Colleen Kelly served 2 aces and Stephanie Fuchs handed out 5 assists for the Wildcats.
Fremd d. Schaumburg: Host Fremd (15-6, 6-2) retained its one-match lead in the MSL West with a 25-20, 25-23 victory as Kayla Price dished out 25 assists, the majority going to Alex Messner (9 kills), Elizabeth Dotson (6 kills) and Tess Dinterman (5). Messner was also 9-of-10 serve receiving with 3 digs while Lena Brottman was 9-of-10 receiving with a pair for digs.
Joliet Catholic d. St. Viator: Joliet Catholic won the East Suburban Catholic Conference match 25-19, 25-21 as the visiting Lions (19-5-1, 5-2) were led by Emily Leazer's 7 kills and Carlyn Clevenger's 2 aces and 16 assists. Kelly Travalgio added 3 kills while Mary Calov and Kelly McConnell connected for 2 apiece.
Christian Liberty d. Mooseheart: Senior outside hitter Taylor White put down 9 kills and collected 5 digs as visiting Christian Liberty (9-5, 4-4) won 25-20, 25-19 in the Northeastern Athletic Conference. Amy Farmer served 5 aces and had 3 digs for the winners while teammate Jayna Rowland added 3 aces.