Cary-Grove focused on its goals
The opponent may not be who Cary-Grove expected it to be, but it matters little to the Trojans at this point.
What matters to the defending Class 4A state champions is continuing on the road to another title.
Ranked No. 1 in the nation by prepvolleyball.com and ESPN Rise, Cary-Grove stands 3 wins away from another trip to the IHSA girls volleyball Final Four and the next step in the journey is tonight when the Trojans take on DeKalb in the 7 p.m. semifinal of the Jacobs sectional. Dundee-Crown meets Rockton Hononegah in the first semifinal at 6 p.m.
“I didn't know much about DeKalb but we went to watch them play Huntley and they were impressive,” said 16th-year Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis. “They will be a formidable opponent.”
The Barbs (31-5) proved that on Saturday when they marched into Huntley's gym and took down the 32-5 Red Raiders 25-22, 25-21 in the regional title match.
“They're big and athletic and all of their players are talented,” said Langanis of the Northern Illinois Big Twelve champions who won their first regional title since 2007 but have never won a sectional.
“They have a couple of strong hitters and a very talented setter. They remind me some of Huntley.”
The strongest of those hitters is 6-foot-2 junior Emily Bemis, who had 16 kills in the win over Huntley. She is backed up by junior outside Baleigh Euhus.
But what makes the Barbs go is senior setter/outside hitter Courtney Thomas, a Wisconsin recruit who is ranked as the No. 1 senior volleyball player in Illinois and the 16th best senior in the nation by prepvolleyball.com.
“She keeps their offense quick and unpredictable,” said Langanis of Thomas, who had 12 kills against Huntley. “She's probably one of the best setters I've seen.”
Cary-Grove, of course, has the weapons to match with Indiana-bound setter Colleen Smith and a strong hitting crew led by Ohio University recruit Kelly Lamberti and backed by junior Ashley Rosch, sophomore Allison Whimpey, senior Sam Mainzer and junior Melanie Jereb. That group has led the Trojans to a 37-0 record and 53 straight wins over the last two seasons, the second best girls volleyball winning streak in IHSA history.
And, Langanis says, her girls are as focused as ever.
“Our group is real goal-oriented,” she said. “They set lofty goals at the beginning of the year and we have weekly meetings where we try to improve on what we did last week. We don't talk about our record. We talk about this week and I don't see an complacency at all. These girls are too smart and their goals are too big. They know that on any given night any team can beat them and they really believe that. That's an important quality to have.”
Dundee-Crown vs. Hononegah: The Chargers (8-30) came out of a South Elgin regional filled with sub-. 500 teams but that means little to 17th-year D-C coach Tracy Williams, whose program is in a sectional tournament for the first time since 1996.
“A lot of people have belittled the regional we were in but I have to give my girls credit for playing hard and getting through it,” said Williams, whose club beat Elgin in the opening round, South Elgin in the semifinals and Larkin in the title match. “It's hard to believe. It makes up for the lack of wins during the season.”
Williams said a recent lineup change that moved junior Alexa Schemanske from outside to middle has paid dividends for the Chargers, who do have a formidable hitting crew in senior Alexis Holm, junior Rebecca Hischke and Schemanske. Defensively, Williams lauded the play of junior Carlin Falukner down the home stretch of the season.
Hononegah, which shared the NIC-10 title with Rockford Boylan, outlasted Boylan 25-22, 17-25, 25-14 to win the Harlem regional. The Indians (31-7), who won a regional title for the first time since 2007, could be without senior outside Ise d'Angelo, the second leading hitter in the NIC-10, who went down with an elbow injury during the regional title match. Outside Kris Kotch had 9 kills and Rachal Woody added 7 for the Indians in the regional final.
“I don't know much about (Hononegah) but I think the schedule we played and the competition we play in the Fox Valley Conference has helped us,” Williams said.
“We have absolutely nothing to lose. Thursday night I thought we played the best volleyball we have all year. Then Saturday they wanted it so bad they played super tight. That Thursday attitude is what we hope to have. The kids are so loose and having so much fun.”
Tonight's winners return to Jacobs Thursday for the 7 p.m. title match and that winner will move on to the 3 p.m. Saturday Barrington supersectional to play the winner of the Warren sectional. Libertyville takes on Stevenson and Hersey meets Lake Zurich in tonight's semis at Warren.