St. Charles schools meet in semifinal
St. Charles North and St. Charles East’s girls volleyball teams square off at 7 p.m. Tuesday night in the second semifinal at the Class 4A St. Charles East sectional after winning their regional championships in opposite fashion.
While the Saints advanced in two convincing games over Batavia 25-14, 25-15, St. Charles North upset No. 3 seed Glenbard West in a dramatic 25-22, 24-26, 26-24 thriller. It was the North Stars’ sixth regional title in eight years while the Saints have won six straight.
The sixth-seeded North Stars (24-11) come into the matchup as underdogs against the No. 2 seeded Saints (31-6). In their regular season meeting St. Charles East won 25-16, 25-18.
But Lindsey Hawkins’ North Stars have several players that concern the Saints, starting with a pair of seniors Kim Juriga on the outside and Jill Stolzenburg in the middle.
Setter Emily Beltz set 39 assists Thursday in the win over Glenbard West. She can also look to Lauren Madziarczyk who had 11 kills in that match.
“She (Lauren) often gets overshadowed by Kim and Jill, but she is by far our best all-around player and is second in kills on the team,” Hawkins said. “Not only is she a great offensive player for us, but she is also one of the most solid defenders and has great ball control and is probably our best serve receive passer. She’s the type of player every coach wants on their team because she’s such a hard worker and a great leader.”
The North Stars feature an emerging young star in Taylor Krage. The sophomore stepped up against the Hilltoppers with a team-high 17 kills.
“Taylor is not far behind our top two players in kills and is also one of our better defenders and serve receive passers,” Hawkins said. “Many teams have had trouble finding ways to stop her.”
At St. Charles East, a pair of fourth-year starters, Meghan Niski and Maisey Mulvey, lead an experienced group.
“We have eight seniors on our team and none of us want it to end,” Niski said. “We’re definitely a close-bonded team and we want to keep playing together as long as we can. We want to keep going as long as we can.”
The Saints also are looking forward to playing on their home court.
“We talked about all season we want to play well at home because we were hoping to be back there,” Saints coach Jennie Kull said. “Now that we are back there we are excited because we have played really well at home. We’re comfortable, we have a routine so I’m excited about it.”
“It’s definitely a good feeling knowing you can play at home and having your fans and family there is a good feeling too,” Niski said.
The winner of Tuesday’s semifinal will play the winner of No. 1 York vs. No. 5 West Chicago. The Saints and Dukes have played in three straight sectionals — the Saints won the first two years and York defeated the Saints last year.
“This is the team I know,” Kull said of the way the Saints played against Batavia. “This is the team. I know what they can do. I know they can even play better. I’m excited.”