Wauconda's fun ride finally comes to an end

Wauconda's hour bus ride to Hampshire, which setter Megan Tallman said included lots of music and singing, was nothing.

The longer journey, which also included singing as well as laughing, was the one that included a destination never before traveled by the Bulldogs.

The fun ended in Hampshire, however, as Marian Central pulled out a 25-19, 25-23 win over a Wauconda team playing in its first supersectional.

Marian Central (35-4), which established a school record with its win in the sectional final and advances downstate for the fifth time since 1978, will play in the Class 3A state semifinals Friday at Illinois State's Redbird Arena in Normal.

“They've been to state,” Wauconda senior hitter Cara Nance said. “We've never been to anything close to a supersectional. It was fun. I wish I could do it again.”

Wauconda, whose won-lost record hovered around .500 during most of the regular season, finished 21-18. The Bulldogs hit their stride once the state tournament started.

“This year started off with us as the underdogs, as always,” Tallman said. “Wauconda volleyball wasn't going to be anything again. I think that our team was just out to prove those people wrong, because that's the type of team we are. These girls are everything to me. We're a family.”

Wauconda coach Bob Taterka couldn't have been prouder of his Bulldogs, whose season included their first sectional championship.

“Who would have thought we'd be here in the supersectional?” Taterka said. “Marian Central is a dominating team, and we hung in there. If something goes a little differently in Game 2, we're playing a Game 3. Our kids just played with so much heart and so much intensity.”

Marian Central got 12 kills from junior Emma Hussey, and she was complemented by Tara Blake (6 kills, 1 block), Shelby Cassesse (4 kills, 3 aces, 1 block) and Meredith Patterson (4 kills). Junior setter Abby Gilleland steered an efficient, well-balanced attack, dishing out 22 assists.

“Their setter was incredible,” Tallman said. “Their outside hitter (Hussey) we had problems shutting her down, but our defense did a good job around that. Marian has a great program. I'm glad we got to play them because it's going to make us a stronger program.”

Hussey hammered 6 kills in the final game. Her attack, after her own dig kept the play alive, pulled Marian Central even at 17-17. She then blocked Ali Morrison to give the Hurricanes the lead for good. Hussey's ace extended the advantage to 22-18.

“She started to get a little angry,” Marian Central coach Laura Watling said of her dominating hitter. “When she gets angry and she wants it, she fights hard. I can see that determination in her.”

With Marian Central up 24-20, Wauconda scored 3 straight points, 2 on kills by Erinn Hellweg, forcing Watling to call her only timeout.

When play resumed, Blake ripped the clincher off another perfect dish by Gilleland.

“I said (during the timeout) that we just need to be aggressive,” Watling said. “When we had game point, we were just putting the ball over nice and easy.”

Hellweg led Wauconda with 10 kills, while Morrison added four. Becca Thiltgen notched 10 digs. Marian Central delivered 8 aces, including 1 by Cassesse that ended Game 1. Hellweg served 3 of Wauconda's 7 aces.

“You see the way that Marian Central serves and the way that they attack,” Taterka said. “We lost 25-23 (in the second game). There's no embarrassment in that. They're a strong program, but we were not significantly outclassed.”

Wauconda showed resiliency in both games. The Bulldogs erased a 6-0 deficit in Game 1, before a run of 6 straight points behind the serving of Cassesse gave the Hurricanes the lead for good.

“We put up a huge fight,” Nance said. “If we could have pushed ourselves a little bit harder, it would have been a really, really good match. Maybe we could have pushed it to three.”