Girls volleyball / Scouting DuPage County sectionals
Class 4A West Aurora sectional
Matchups: No. 1 Benet vs. No. 13 Oswego, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; No. 7 Lockport vs. No. 9 Plainfield Central, Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Sectional championship, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Outlook: There’s no shortage of Cinderellas here, with three of the top four seeds going down in regionals. No. 1 Benet probably holds the clock that reads midnight, though. The Redwings (34-3) have advanced to the sectional final each of the last four years; none of the other three teams at West Aurora have played in a sectional match since 2006. Don’t tell Benet coach Brad Baker his team has an easy road. “You have to be playing well to get here,” he said. “You have to expect good matches and to play well to move on.” Benet was tested by West Aurora in its regional final but advanced behind Meghan Haggerty’s 9 kills. Haggerty and fellow senior Jenna Jendryk are the only Redwings that played on Benet’s last sectional champs, in 2009. Oswego (19-17) started its season 0-6, but upset Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley in regionals to win its first title since 2006. Sydney Volovski, an outside hitter committed to Manhattan College, missed most of the first half of the season with a fractured wrist but had 7 kills and 11 digs against Waubonsie. “They seem like a good defensive team and are scrappy,” Baker said of his opponent. “They seem to know what they do well and they do it.” Lockport (26-11) won its first regional since 2005, and the Porters’ 26 wins are their most since 1999. No shortage of motivation for the Porters, as coach Julia Hudson is retiring after 33 years at the school. Plainfield Central (22-15) knocked off Metea Valley and Neuqua Valley to win its first regional since 2001. Outside Erin Hyland, who had 13 kills against Neuqua, is a player to watch. “For most ouf our kids, this week will be a new experience,” Baker said, “but we’ve played in lots of big matches. That’s why we do that — so we are ready for these kinds of matches.”
Class 4A St. Charles East sectional
Matchups: No. 1 York vs. No. 5 West Chicago, Tuesday 6 p.m.; No. 2 St. Charles East vs. No. 6 St. Charles North, Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Sectional championship, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Could it be four of a kind in St. Charles? York and St. Charles East, who have met in a sectional final each of the past three years, are clearly the power cards in St. Charles. York (31-3), which held off a tough Wheaton Warrenville South challenge to win its regional behind Melissa Deatsch’s 11 kills, beat the Saints last year en route to taking fourth in Class 4A. “It was a tough regional for us,” said York coach Patty Iverson, whose team is over a recent run of sickness. “Fortunately for us we had to play two really good matches to get here.” York is the team to beat here, but West Chicago (25-12) and Illinois-bound senior outside Julia Conard are peaking at the right time with recent wins over Naperville Central, Hinsdale Central and Geneva. York beat West Chicago in a regional final two years ago. “They have great athletes and are always real tough to play,” Iverson said of West Chicago. “We’re just going to play the best we can.” St. Charles East (31-6), winners of six straight regional titles and led by four-year starters Meghan Niski and Maisey Mulvey, beat St. Charles North (24-11) 25-16, 25-18 during the regular season. The North Stars, though, do come in off a dramatic three-set upset of Glenbard West.
Class 4A Whitney Young sectional
Matchups: No. 1 Lyons Township vs. No. 5 Hinsdale Central, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; No. 2 Downers Grove North vs. No. 6 Whitney Young, Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Sectional championship, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Outlook: No introductions necessary here. Three of the four sectional semifinalists represent the West Suburban Silver, and Young played Downers Grove North and Hinsdale Central at the season-ending Downers Grove North Invite. The Trojans (22-15), led by Jessie Tulacka and Taylor Kasal, are on a late-season roll. They are 14-1 since Oct. 1, and now seek their first sectional title since 1988. Chicago Public League champion Young (32-4) has never won a sectional and were beaten in straight sets by the Trojans at the Downers Grove North Invite. But the Dolphins’ confidence must be high after stunning third seed Hinsdale South last week. Hinsdale Central (20-17) endured a trying regular season, losing setter Meghan McDowell to a season-ending knee injury and outside Ally Davis for the last six matches. Davis returned for regionals, though, and had 16 kills as the Red Devils survived match point in the second set and a 7-point deficit in the third to stun St. Ignatius last Thursday. “Nothing like making it more exciting,” Red Devils coach Sheralynn Kellough said. “The girls have been talking about wanting to rewrite the season in the postseason. I’m proud of how they finished last week.” Defending 4A champ Lyons is led by Illinois recruit Alexis Viliunas and fellow-four year starter Laura Williams. Hinsdale Central, after its first sectional crown since 1977, did beat Lyons during the season behind Davis’ 24 kills. That’s not all that’s on the Red Devils’ minds. Kellough, pregnant with twins, is due in the next week. “I’m thankful that they’ve stayed in as long as they have, healthy and still growing,” Kellough said. “The kids and all the parents have been really supportive.”
Class 3A Joliet Catholic sectional
Matchups: St. Francis vs. Morris, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; Joliet Catholic vs. Nazareth, Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Sectional championship, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Outlook: It’s a foregone conclusion that St. Francis and Joliet Catholic will meet in the postseason for the sixth straight year, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Spartans (31-6) first must deal with Morris. The junior-laden Redskins (23-12-1) which last year advanced to a 3A sectional final, now seek their first sectional title. Junior setter Katie Chatten runs a 5-1 with 720 assists, junior outside Kendall Korte has put down 247 kills and junior middle Laney Torkelson has 56 blocks. St. Francis, which has won at least a regional every year since 1990, counters with Toledo-bound senior middle Daiva Wise and senior setter Carly Warner, a Cincinnati recruit. Joliet Catholic (31-6), sectional champions seven of the last eight years with three state titles in that stretch, is led by Loyola-bound outside Kelly Feigh and junior Morgan Reardon, also a Loyola recruit. The Angels will face East Suburban Catholic rival Nazareth (23-14), which also features a Loyola recruit in 6-foot senior setter/hitter Brittany Brown.
Class 2A Winnebago sectional
Matchups: St. Edward vs. Lena-Winslow, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; Timothy-Christian vs. Guerin, Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Sectional championship, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Outlook: Have any of the Trojans ever been to Winnebago? “I don’t think so,” replied coach Lindsey Van Schepen with a laugh. Van Schepen, who grew up near Grinnell, Iowa, might get her parents to tonight’s match in the sleepy town 10 miles west of Rockford. History could be set there for the streaking Trojans. Timothy Christian (33-3-1), unbeaten over its last 30 matches, is after the first sectional title in school history. The Trojans last reached a sectional in 2006, and their last sectional final was in 2001. “The girls are really excited about the opportunity in front of them,” Van Schepen said. A balanced Trojans team led by sophomore setter Jenna Lodewyk and senior middle Mackenzie Vos weathered a tough 25-23, 25-23 regional final with Immaculate Conception to get here. “Putting them in that competitive environment where there is something to lose has only made them stronger,” Van Schepen said. Guerin (18-12) will be the third straight Trojans’ playoff opponent from the Suburban Christian Conference. Guerin, which won its second regional title last week, is led by 6-foot junior middle Alexandra Bojan and 5-10 junior outside Sara Brodner as well as 5-6 senior setter Jackie Bartnicki. The other semifinal pits St. Edward, third in Class 2A in 2008 against Lena-Winslow, which placed fourth in Class A in 2001. “Anytime you are on the win streak that we are on it’s the type of momentum you can’t just create,” Van Schepen said. “It’s something we hold on to, but at the same time we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”