Cary-Grove Trojans bring home the hardware from volleyball tourney

Escorted by police and fire vehicles and greeted by fans rattling plastic pop bottles filled with BBs, the Cary-Grove girls volleyball team returned in triumph to the high school Sunday afternoon.

The team brought home the school's first state title the day after defeating Lyons Township High School during the IHSA Class 4A championship game at Redbird Arena in Normal.

As the bus approached the awaiting crowd, the players were overcome by emotion.

"It feels awesome to see our community supporting us," said junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti. "We worked hard every practice. Every hour that we went in that gym, we played as hard as we possibly could and worked on everything so we could get everything perfect almost."

Senior middle blocker Colleen Hargrove, who served the final ace, said, "I could tell you every single person on the bus was bawling. It was amazing that everybody in the town was there to support us."

Coach Patty Langanis said the momentum began in the spring, when she sat down with the seniors "and I started to sense that this was a team that wanted this very badly."

As the crowd gathered in the parking lot, one of the players' moms, Joan Roth, could be seen decorating her Volkswagen Jetta with markers. Among the words she scrawled was "Kumbaya," which the team sung huddled together during a cold practice. It turned into a tradition.

Roth said the championship is a tribute to the team's dedication.

"They just seem to live, eat and breathe volleyball," said Roth, mother of Colette Roth.

One of the football moms, Sue Mago, was passing out the pop bottles. "I make these for the football games. Today it's time for the football players to shake for the girls."

After the team arrived, the crowd gathered in the gym for a rally.

"How about that for a weekend? Huh?," said Principal Jay Sargent. Sargent thanked the fans for traveling to Redbird Arena, "to show the state what supporting your team is all about."

He added, "Was it just me, or were the birds singing a little louder this morning? The air was a little fresher. The orange juice a little sweeter this morning."

The rally was attended by Fox River Grove Village President Robert Nunamaker and Cary Mayor Tom Kierna.

Nunamaker presented the coach with two volleyballs for the team to sign, to be placed in the two village halls, while Kierna read a proclamation that declared the week in the team's honor and presented the team with the key to the village.

Nunamaker led the assembly with the cheer: "Yo baby, yo baby, yo baby, yo. You gotta be a Trojan or you got to go."

Colleen Hargrove's father, Tim Hargrove, said, "It took the whole team to do it. It would have been a different outcome, I think, if one person was missing."

Hargrove added that the families of the players are close.

"The girls sing karaoke together. It has really been four years of a great friendship."

<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=336714">Images of Cary-Grove's welcome home rally </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=336656">Images from Cary-Grove's state volleyball championship </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>