Schill knows the drill as Hersey stays perfect in MSL East

Taylor Schill's digs were a game-changer.

Because of it, Hersey was digging the fact of something that did not change on Tuesday its perfect Mid-Suburban League record.

The sophomore back row defensive specialist made 3 big digs in a span of 2 points which helped the visiting Huskies pull away midway through Game 3 en route to a 25-13, 19-25, 25-14 victory at the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect.

"I thought Taylor's digging really changed the momentum," said senior outside hitter Christine Solans, who enjoyed a fine match with a team-high 9 kills (24-of-25). "After that we went on a big run."

With the Huskies nursing a 13-10 advantage, Schill came up with back-to-back eye-catching digs on big smashes.

The sequence ended with sophomore Abby Fesl setting Solans for a kill and 14-10 lead. Schill produced another superb dig on the next rally, and this time it set up a block by Kelsey Haas (7kills) which made it 15-10 and forced Prospect to call for a timeout.

"Taylor was the game-changer," said Hersey coach Nancy Lill, whose team is 17-3 and 6-0 in the MSL East. "Like I told the girls, she was the biggest presence in Game 3."

The Huskies were without the presence of back row performer Danielle Perkins for most of Game 2 as the senior went out with a bloody nose. But she returned for the final game.

"The comfort of knowing Danielle was back out there with us in Game 3 really helped," Solans added. "We never thought we would lose even in Game 2. We needed this match to stay undefeated. It's a good start to the second half of league play."

Solans also had 9 digs and ws 12-of-14 serving.

"Christine Solans and Jenni Mueller (18 digs, 2 aces) had consistent matches all around," Lil added. "They held us together. They were the glue."

Alexa Stedman (2 kills) was the server when Schill (11 digs) made her big defensive plays. Stedman, 5-foot-11 senior middle, wound up serving for 7 straight points, 3 after the timeout.

"Alexis served strong and consistent," Lill said.

An ace by Prospect junior Kelly Ziegenfuss gave the hosts a 7-5 lead in Game 3 before Hersey rallied behind 3 service points from Abby Fesl (11-of-12, 1 ace), who also collected 25 setting assists.

In Game 2, Prospect edged clear when a kill and tip by Sage Rebecca (6 kills) made it 17-11.

Rachel Hunt led the Knights with 11 kills.

Maura Benson added 2 blocks while Sam Mangrum and Rebecca had 1 apiece.

Senior Mariel Sobey was 25-of-27 on serve receive and 11-of-13 serving with an ace.

"I thought Mariel had a real good night," said Prospect coach Mike Riedy, whose team is 9-9 and 3-3. "Her serving was dead solid and her defense was great. It was one of her best matches of the season."

Riedy liked the way his team (9-2, 3-3) stepped up against the conference leader.

"I kind of lit a fire under them in Game 2," he said. "And they came out with more energy and started playing like athletes, something we haven't seen much of. They had kind of been playing like it was intra-murals but now they have a state of success."

Barrington d. Palatine: Visiting Barrington improved to 8-12 and 4-2 in the MSL West with a 25-13, 25-16 victory over Palatine (9-11, 2-5).

Schaumburg d. Conant: Schaumburg (13-5, 6-0) remained in first place in the MSL West with a 25-1, 25-22 victory as Sara Travis and Emily Young each had 8 kills to lead the Saxons' attack.

Rebecca Thompson and Kelly Koutnik each had 4 and Alyssa Saklak 3.

Young collected 17 assists while Natasha Senecal had 15 digs.

Bria Hailey served a match-high 3 aces.

Visiting Conant (7-13, 2-5) was led on attack by Jennifer Donnell (11-of-11, 3 kills) while teammate Kayla Jordan led the defense with 7 digs.

Chelsea Vanicek served 2 aces and Yordon 1.

Fremd d. Hoffman Estates: Alex Messner collected 14 kills and Marylin Lortz collected 20 assist as visiting Fremd (13-6, 4-2) posted a 25-19, 25-17 victory.

Claire Brady (5), Kendall Loafe (3) and Jessi Wiedemann (2) led the Vikes in blocking against the Hawks (7-11, 1-5).

Wheeling d. Elk Grove: Host Wheeling improved to 14-5 and 5-1 in the MSL East with a 26-24, 17-25, 25-23 victory.

Kayla Jordan (8 kills Kellie Kuzmanic (60 and Sarah Hennessy (6) led the attack for the Wildcats while Stephanie Fuchs handed out 24 assists.

Krista Soesbe (9 kills), Diamond Boyd (8) and Kristen Cetkovic (7) led the attack for the Grenadiers (9-10, 2-4). Jessica Balzano collected 10 assists.

Buffalo Grove d. Rolling Meadows: Alanna Zawlocki (9 kills), Sierra Bugno (7), Paige Smith (7) and Baliey North (5) led the Buffalo Grove attack in a 20-25, 25- 16, 25-12 victory.

Kathy Hampton handed out 7 assists while Smith and Katie Okamoto each served 2 aces for BG (3-16, 1-5).

Host Rolling Meadows (5-14, 1-5) was led on attack by Veronica Dabrowski and Emily Haeger, who each had 4 kills while Rachel Mickey had 3. Jenny Vliet and Olivia Falk each collected 7 assists.

Marist d. St. Viator: Marist won the East Suburban Catholic Conference match 25-10, 25-19 over St. Viator (13-3, 0-2).

Caitlin Clevenger was 64-of-66 setting with 12 assists. Her top hitters Emily Leazer (4 kills), Janelle Stilling (4 kills), Horvath (3), Julie Sweeney (2) and Lauren Falotico (2).