St. Charles E. survives St. Charles N.

Combine an underdog playing lights-out volleyball, two rabid fan bases into every point, and the finality that a loss would have meant to either team and you start to get a picture of the scene Tuesday night at the Class 4A St. Charles East sectional.

No. 2 seed St. Charles East had little trouble in beating No. 6 St. Charles North during the regular season. But that only served to motivate the North Stars who stunned the Saints 25-23 in Game 1 and had the home team’s season on the ropes with a 16-11 lead in Game 2.

With a huge crowd roaring no matter which team won each point, the gym was jumping. Luckily for the Saints, so were seniors Meghan Niski and Nichole Lambert.

The duo skied for a combined 28 kills, powering St. Charles East to a 23-25, 25-19, 25-17 come-from-behind victory and a spot in Thursday night’s championship game against No. 1 seed York (32-3).

While the Saints (32-6) try to avenge last year’s sectional championship loss to York — the same team St. Charles East defeated in the 2008 and 2009 sectional title games — the North Stars (24-12) didn’t go down without one heck of a fight.

“We did not bring our game last time and I told them I am not going home tonight without giving it everything that we possibly have,” North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said. “Our seniors didn’t want to go home tonight, Meghan Niski didn’t want to go home tonight. So it made for some really great volleyball.”

That great volleyball started early for the North Stars. After Lambert dominated them in the regular season meeting, the North Stars focused on her and held her to 2 kills in Game 1.

St. Charles North raced to an early 6-1 lead before the Saints drew even at 10-10 and 14-14. Sarah Dugan served seven straight points and St. Charles East looked in command at 21-15 only to see the North Stars close the game on a 10-2 surge.

An ace from Jill Stolzenburg tied the game at 22. A cross-court kill from Niski gave the Saints their last lead 23-22 before a net violation and Saints hitting error put the North Stars at game point. Taylor Krage finished it by slamming down an overpass.

If the North Stars didn’t have the Saints’ full attention before, they did now.

“I said to the kids it is all Saints day,” Saints coach Jennie Kull said. “This is our gym and our day, we need to win this.

“Nichole came back. They blocked her right off and did a nice job. The kids stayed focused and that’s the senior leadership.”

Yet it was the North Stars who took control again in Game 2, matching their biggest lead at 16-11 on Kim Juriga’s kill. The Saints got back into the match with four service points from Maisey Mulvey, then grabbed the lead on Dugan’s long service run for the second straight game.

“I just kind of felt there was no excuse if I messed up,” Dugan said. “I had to keep on getting points for the team so we could get the momentum back.”

This time the senior served six straight points for a 22-18 lead, and this time St. Charles East closed out the game when the North Stars went into the net on game point after Lambert got the Saints to 24 with a powerful kill in the middle on one of Erienne Barry’s 40 assists.

“I just wasn’t there mentally (in Game 1), me personally I didn’t have my mind there,” said Lambert, who finished with 11 kills and 8 blocks after her slow start. “I was like it is North we have beat them a bunch of times but once we stated going I was like I want this.”

Hawkins knew the North Stars had let the Saints off the hook. While the North Stars again battled throughout Game 3, St. Charles East led by at least 4 points from the time it was 14-10 all the way to the North Stars hitting long on match point.

“It was that one rotation where they got those points back,” Hawkins said. “Had we got out of that a little quicker I think it would have been a different story.”

Niski led both teams with 17 kills. Dugan had 10 digs and Mulvey 9 digs, Nichole Woods added 9 kills and Caitlyn Ballard and Kathleen Dailey also chipped in with timely blocks and kills late in both games two and three — and the Saints needed each and every one.

“North played phenomenal,” Kull said. “They played their hearts out. I’m proud of that team. They put a scare on us. They played better than I have ever seen them play. We were fortunate enough to turn it around. I couldn’t be prouder of each side. It was a great battle.”

Juriga topped the North Stars with 11 kills and 3 blocks. Stolzenburg had 6 kills and 4 aces, while Lauren Madziarczyk had 10 kills and Krage had 8 kills.

Emily Belz nearly matched Barry’s 40 assists with 37 of her own after she had 39 in last Thursday’s regional final upset of Glenbard West — an impressive showing for the North Stars to close their season.

“A lot of people were talking we didn’t deserve to be here tonight and I think my girls proved a lot of people wrong,” Hawkins said. “This is the group I was kind of waiting for to come out all season long. I knew they had this in them. I am so glad I got to see it at the end because they have had this potential all year long.”