Scouting: Fox Valley girls volleyball playoffs
Class 4A Prairie Ridge sectional
Regional hosts: Dundee-Crown, Grant, Elgin, Rockford Guilford
Top seeds: Huntley, Cary-Grove, DeKalb, Hononegah
Dundee-Crown regional
Matchups: No. 1 Huntley (28-7) vs. No. 4 Dundee-Crown (7-28), Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 Barrington (26-7) vs. No. 3 Jacobs (24-11), Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; regional championship, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Outlook: It’s obviously a pretty tough regional if Mid-Suburban League champion Barrington can’t land the top seed. Instead, Huntley, which finished second in the ultracompetitive Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference, has that distinction. The Fillies beat three-time defending champion Hersey in the MSL title game Thursday. Huntley split a pair of meetings with Jacobs during the regular season. The Jacobs-Barrington winner will likely tangle with Huntley in the final. “This is a tough regional,” Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski said. “You’ve got Barrington with 27 wins and Jacobs, who obviously beat us. They’re both great teams. It’ll be a tough regional championship game if we’re lucky enough to get there.” Huntley swept two meetings from host Dundee-Crown.
Grant regional
Matchups: No. 4 McHenry (13-21) vs. No. 5 Grant, Monday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 Prairie Ridge (17-18) vs. No. 3 Crystal Lake South (13-21), Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 1 Cary-Grove (31-4) vs. McHenry-Grant winner, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; regional championship, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Outlook: Cary-Grove sets out on its quest for a third straight appearance in the state finals. The Trojans won the Class 4A title in 2009 and finished second last year. Led by veterans Ashley Rosch and Melanie Jereb, the Trojans could face rival Prairie Ridge in the final. C-G won all three matches against the young Wolves this year, but PR pushed Cary-Grove to a third game in last week’s meeting. “Our regional is tough,” Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis said. “You have to get by either Prairie Ridge or Crystal Lake South and even McHenry. South and Prairie Ridge are so up and down, and when they’re up they are so difficult to play. The last couple of years it seemed our regionals were easier to deal with, but this one is pretty comparable because everyone is going to be playing their best game.” Cary-Grove sophomore Megan Seymour will set for the Trojans in Tuesday’s opener. Starting setter Jess Bartczyszyn had her broken nose reset last week. It’s possible she could return to action in Thursday’s title match, Langanis said. Prairie Ridge swept two meetings from CL South.
Elgin regional
Matchups: No. 4 Larkin vs. No. 5 Streamwood (6-25), Monday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 South Elgin (12-17-1) vs. No. 3 Elgin (6-29), Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 1 DeKalb (25-4) vs. Larkin-Streamwood winner, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Outlook: DeKalb is the prohibitive favorite in this regional. The Barbs are the champions of the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference. However, South Elgin is playing its best volleyball of the season heading into the postseason. The Storm have won 5 straight, led by sophomore hitter Ashley Oandasan. South Elgin split two matches with Elgin in recent weeks. “DeKalb is a good team, but anything can happen,” Elgin coach Scott Stewart said. “We beat South Elgin a couple of weeks ago and they came back a week later and beat us in our tournament. Streamwood beat Larkin, Larkin beat us twice. It’s pretty open otherwise.” Streamwood is led by libero Liz Simonelli, who has topped 300 digs this season.
Class 4A St. Charles East sectional
Regional hosts: Elk Grove, Glenbard East, Geneva, Bartlett
Top seeds: York, St. Charles East, Geneva, Glenbard West
Bartlett regional
Matchups: No. 15 Conant vs. No. 19 Hoffman Estates, Monday at 5:30 p.m.; No 6 St. Charles North vs. No. 11 Bartlett (13-22), Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 3 Glenbard West vs. Conant-Hoffman Estates winner, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; Regional championship, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Outlook: Glenbard West is the favorite, but the winner of Tuesday’s match between St. Charles North and host Bartlett will make the Hilltoppers earn it. St. Charles North defeated Bartlett twice this season, though the Hawks pushed the North Stars to three games in their first meeting. “St. Charles North is a good team, but we can certainly compete with them if we’re playing to our capabilities,” Bartlett coach Brandon Mueller said.
Class 3A Genoa-Kingston sectional
Regional hosts: Dixon, Sycamore, Belvidere, Marengo
Top seeds: Rock Falls, Crystal Lake Central, Rockford Boylan, Marian Central
Sycamore regional
Matchups: Hampshire (10-25) vs. No. 5 Genoa-Kingston (14-19), Monday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 Burlington Central (21-13) vs. No. 3 Sycamore (10-14), Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; Crystal Lake Central (29-6) vs. Hampshire-Genoa-Kingston winner, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; regional championship, Thursday at 6: p.m.
Outlook: This regional could get interesting if Burlington Central gets its top-flight setter back from injury. CL Central is favored to win its seventh straight regional title, but the Tigers could face a challenge in the final from Burlington Central, which has won 21 matches this season despite the absence of ISU-committed setter Kaitlyn O’Reilly. She broke her patella in warm ups for the second match of the year and has been working her way back to health since. O’Reilly has begun practicing and may be available for the postseason. “She has started to train and there’s a chance she could play in regionals,” Central coach Marv Leavitt said. “Before I put her in there I have to be sure she can do everything.” Libero Sam Bohne and third-year middle Brenda Thasavong have been steady performers for the Rockets. CL Central swept two matches from Hampshire, including Thursday’s FVC Fox Division finale. The Sycamore regional winner will face the winner of the Belvidere regional in a Genoa-Kingston sectional semifinal on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. Boylan Catholic is the top seed at Belvidere. The Titans clinched their second straight NIC-10 title last week.
Class 2A Winnebago sectional
Regional hosts: South Beloit, Christian Liberty Academy, Lena-Winslow, Westmont
Top seeds: Winnebago, Guerin, Lena-Winslow, Timothy Christian
South Beloit regional
Matchups: No. 4 North Boone vs. No. 5 St. Edward (18-13), Monday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 3 Rockford Christian vs. No. 6 South Beloit, Monday at 6:30 p.m.; No. 1 Winnebago vs. St. Edward-North Boone winner, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 Rockford Lutheran vs. South Beloit-Rockford Christian winner, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; regional championship match, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Outlook: St. Edward will try to move past North Boone in Monday’s play-in while keeping injured setter Katie Ayello in reserve for Tuesday’s semifinal. Ayello, St. Edward’s senior setter, suffered emulsion fractures in two fingers two weeks ago at the Huntley Invite and has played sparingly since. The hope is Callie Johnson, Sarah Norman and the rest of the Green Wave can handle things without Ayello. “She’ll dress Monday, but we hope to save her for Tuesday,” St. Edward coach Jaime Dovichi said. “We’ll need her. We scouted Winnebago at the Huntley tournament. They look like a pretty tough team, comparable to Immaculate Conception. They are a very tall team with a lot of offense, so we’ve been working a lot on blocking and defense to prepare.”
Class 1A Westminster Christian sectional
Regional hosts: Morgan Park Academy, Harvest Christian Academy, North Shore Country Day, Luther North
Top seeds: Morgan Park Academy, Westminster Christian, St. Scholastica, St. Benedict
Harvest Christian Academy regional
Matchups: No. 4 Alden-Hebron vs. No. 5 Elgin Academy (12-12), Monday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 3 Harvest Christian Academy (20-11-1) vs. No. 6 Faith Lutheran Academy, Monday at 6:30 p.m.; No. 1 Westminster Christian (15-9) vs. Alden-Hebron-Elgin Academy winner, Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.; No. 2 Hinckley Big Rock vs. Harvest Christian Academy-Faith Academy winner, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; regional championship, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Outlook: This regional is wide open. Westminster Christian has the top seed, led by hitters Claire Speweik and Cara Tyrrell. However, the Warriors have been beaten this season by both Harvest Christian and Hinckley Big Rock. Sophomore Sydney Doby leads Harves Christian Academy with 4 kills per game. The Lions are 9-0 on their home court this season.