Hersey’s third at Pumpkin tourney
Hersey couldn’t have tuned up much better for its Mid-Suburban League girls volleyball championship match at Barrington on Thursday.
Going up against quality competition in the Maine West Pumpkin tournament on Saturday, the Huskies delivered one of their top performances of the season to take third place.
After two-set wins over Maine East, Oak Forest and Evanston, Hersey took on state power Sandburg in the semifinal.
The Eagles outlasted the Huskies 34-32, 25-19 but Hersey came back and defeated Lake Zurich 25-14, 18-25, 25-22 for the second time this season.
It was the Huskies’ best finish in the long-running 24-team tourney since the mid-2000s.
Kristen Pedersen (67-77, 65 kills), Kelsey Haas (92-106, 40 kills), Erica Hill (36-41, 20 kills) and Maggie Hogen (45-54, 21 kills) led the Huskies (25-4) on attack while setter Abby Fesl handed out 104 assists and served 11 aces.
“Abby played great,” said Hersey coach Nancy Lill. “Kelsey and Kristen are our two go-to players but our offense has expanded.
“Erica Hill was outstanding throughout the tournament and Maggie Hogen and Lindsay Boivin got plenty of kills. And I can’t say enough about Taylor Schill’s defense. It was a great team effort.”
Pedersen collected 17 blocks and Hill had 11 while Schill scooped up 80 digs.
“It was a great experience to be playing at that level this weekend,” said Hersey coach Nancy Lill. “I thought we grew as a team in many ways.
“We know now we can play some high-caliber volleyball. We haven’t been challenged as much lately and this was a great measuring stick for our team.”
Lyons defeated Sandburg 25-21, 25-22 for the title.
“Even though we fell short against, that 34-32 game was unbelievable against Sandburg,” Lill said. “Neither team would give in. I told our girls that’s the kind of match you’ll see in the state finals. Our goal is obviously the conference next week but looking ahead to the state tournament, this is a great learning experience.”
Ÿ Hoffman Estates (8-27), led by Becca Stoczynski (24 kills) and Destinée Young (21) on attack, went 1-4 in the tourney. Conant (12-16), led by Allie Bauch (34 kills), Jenn Donnell (34) and Morgan Peterson (16), went 2-3. Rachael Yordon had 50 digs for the Cougars and Bauch added 42.
Glenbard East Invite: Mid-Suburban West champion Barrington (26-7) compiled a 3-2 mark in the Autumnfest with wins over Glenbard East, Waubonsie Valley and West Aurora.
All-tourney selection Olivia Szuzskiewicz led the Fillies’ attack with 37 kills followed by Peyton Lang (30) and Lauren Shechtman (25). Shectman also had 10 blocks and teammate Nicole Amato (6).
Setter Lauren Dunseith handed out 109 assists with 7 aces. Emily Canaletto led with 10 aces and Julia Thompson paced the back row with 57 digs
Ÿ Schaumburg went 2-3, getting three-set wins over Crystal Lake South and Hononegah. Kelly Koutnik (40 kills), Kiana Lewis (33 kills), Bria Hailey (30 kills) and Meghan Falsey (14 kills) led the attack for the Saxons.
Elgin Invite: Rolling Meadows won the title with a 4-1 record.
The Mustangs (19-13) notched wins over Elgin, South Elgin, Leyden and Dundee-Crown.
The Mustangs were led on attack by Veronica Drabowski (21 kills), Ashley Montanez (20 kills), Morgan Keller (19 kills), Rachel Mickey (17) and Jenny Vliet (15 kills), who also handed out 36 assists while Olivia Falk had 23 assists.
“This was a total team effort,” said Meadows coach Janet Opels. “Olivia Falk and Jenny Vliet distributed the ball well and all our offensive players had a good tournament.”