Cary-Grove defeats Glenbrook S., moves to championship game

NORMAL - There have been many great comebacks in the history of the IHSA state girls volleyball tournament.

Cary-Grove's 19-25, 25-17, 27-25 win over Glenbrook South Friday night in the Class 4A semifinals will now rank among the best of them.

Down 14-8 in Game 3, and still facing match point with a 24-22 deficit, the Trojans (35-4) roared back behind the stellar play of senior Abbey Heredia and juniors Kelly Lamberti and Colleen Smith to win the match and take their place in Saturday's 7:45 p.m. state championship match against Lyons Township (37-4). Lyons beat Quincy 25-17, 25-16 in Friday's second semifinal at Redbird Arena.

"I'm just so proud of this team," said 15th-year Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis, whose program is in the state final tournament for the first time. "We weren't clicking as well as we'd have liked but we stayed strong. I don't know how we managed to stay in this match and pull it out. It's a testament to this team and their heart."

Cary-Grove looked out of sorts in Game 1 and after falling behind 11-6 never really threatened the Titans' lead until they made a late mini-run and closed to 23-19 before losing the edge and the game.

But that late momentum carried into Game 2 and the Trojans jumped out to a 10-4 lead that blossomed to a 19-8 advantage before Glenbrook South made it interesting by ripping off 7 straight points. But, leading 22-17, the Trojans were able to put the game away with Smith at the service line. A powerful kill from senior Colleen Hargrove sent the match to a third game.

"We started clicking better in the second game," Langanis said. "We changed up our lineup and we just told them to relax. Glenbrook South's serve receive started to break and it seemed like we were more in our environment at that point."

Game 3 was simply classic volleyball, most notably at the end.

Glenbrook South seemed to have the game in control as 6-foot-4 junior Ellen Chapman, a Wisconsin recruit, and 5-11 senior Emani Sims (Miami, Fla.) controlled the net, and with senior setter Colleen Brennan (Columbia) setting in a variety of ways, the Titans had a seemingly comfortable 14-8 lead and the Trojans saw their season hanging in the balance.

"We knew we had to just keep working hard," said Smith, a junior who has committed to Indiana. "We came out with a lot of heart and we just had to keep working hard."

A Glenbrook South hitting error made it 14-9 and put Lamberti at the serving line. Three straight kills from Hargrove and another Titan misfire made it 14-13, but a kill from senior Meredith Nuber made it 15-13 and gave Glenbrook South the serve back. The Titans scored three straight points to lead 18-13, but a Lamberti block made it 18-14. A block from sophomore Ashley Rosch and a Hargrove ace made it an 18-15 game, but again the Titans were able to side out on a Sims kill.

Brennan served an ace and Cary-Grove was called for lifting before a Lamberti kill made it 21-17. The Trojans served out of bounds but a 4-hit call on Glenbrook South left the margin at 4, 22-18. Senior Kayla Klinger served an ace to make it 22-19, but another Sims kill gave the Titans a 23-19 advantage.

Lamberti took control of the outside at that point, pounding three kills in a row to make it a 23-22 game but a Chapman slam to the right side put the Titans at match point.

But Glenbrook South, also playing in the Final Four for the first time, couldn't seal the deal.

"We were up 24-22 and had the opportunity to put the match away and we just didn't get it done," said Glenbrook South coach Katie Hoover.

That's because Smith, Lamberti and Heredia took over.

First, a Lamberti kill made it 24-23 and put Smith at the service line. She promptly fired an ace to tie it. Lamberti then placed a perfect tip and suddenly the Trojans were up 25-24 and serving match point. But a 4-hit call on C-G gave the Titans back the serve and with Chapman at the line, they looked to wrap it up.

Again Lamberti, taking a perfect set from Heredia, slammed home a kill and again the Trojans were at match point.

This time there would be no drama. With the entire Crystal Lake Central team and its coaches cheering wildly right behind her, Lamberti fired an ace into the middle of the court and Cary-Grove had its place in the state championship match, where the Trojans will try to become the second District 155 team in the last three years to bring home a state title (CL Central won the Class 3A crown in 2007).

"We knew we had to shut down Ellen on those last few points and we were definitely looking for the open spots," said Heredia."

Lamberti had a match-high 17 kills to lead the Trojans while Heredia had 27 assists. Hargrove added 8 kills, Klinger had 5 kills, 4 aces and 9 digs and Smith served 5 of the Trojans' 15 aces.

"They're a really tough serving team," said Hoover. "That top spin really challenged us. It's really tough to judge if that serve is coming short or going deep."

Chapman, who led Glenbrook South with 14 kills, gave her Sky High club teammate, Lamberti, kudos.

"She's a great player," Chapman said. "You can't really tell where she's going to hit. She can get a kill from anywhere on the court."

And now the Trojans get to prepare for a state championship match, something Langanis has never had the honor of doing with a team.

"Well, in all my years of experience down here," she joked to a roar of laughter when asked what she'd do to get her team ready for Saturday's match. "We'll just keep doing what we do. We'll go back to the hotel and celebrate a little and then start preparing."

Heredia says Trojans' fans could see a different start to Saturday's match.

"It's nice to get the first match out of the way," she said. "Now we know what state is like and we'll come out (Saturday) and play true Cary-Grove volleyball."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=336529">Images from Cary-Grove vs. Glenbrook South volleyball</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>