Cary-Grove a solid third at Jacobs
Cary-Grove girls volleyball coach Patty Langanis realizes she has abundance of talent on her 2014 roster.
But early in the season she knows it will take time for her team to mold into a solid squad.
Avenging a loss earlier in the day, the Trojans defeated Hersey 25-18, 25-16 to capture third place in Saturday's Jacobs Invitational at the Eagles Nest in Algonquin.
Hersey defeated Cary-Grove 25-21, 25-19 in pool play.
"We eliminated the unforced errors we had earlier in the day against Hersey," said Langanis. "We played more of our system and kept them on their toes. Sure, we would have liked to have played for the championship. But we had a good day and learned a lot."
In the third-place match, Abigail Schebel led the Trojans (5-2) with 8 kills and Allison Splitt added 7 kills.
'We wanted a chance to play Hersey again," said Schebel. "We really came together as a team and everybody contributed. We have so many players who help us win."
In the semifinals, Wheaton North defeated the Trojans 20-25, 25-20, 25-21.
Cary-Grove, 2-1 in pool play, was paced in the loss to the Falcons by Sarah Graham with 8 kills. Alana Schouten led the Falcons with 7 kills.
In the title game, Crystal Lake Central defeated Wheaton North 25-21, 27-25. MacKenzie Allen paced the Tigers with 7 kills and setter Susan Jeziorowski contributed 8 assists
"We lost 10 seniors from last year's team and have only one kid with varsity experience," said Crystal Lake Central coach Lisa Brunstrom. "I didn't know what to expect from this team. I have been pleasantly surprised so far. We just need to work hard to keep getting better."
"I was very pleased with the effort and the way we rose our level of play," said Wheaton North coach Carole Kristensen. "I am very happy with second place in the this tournament because the competition is so good. We were able to work out some kinks today."
Crystal Lake Central advanced to the championship match with a hard-fought 23-25, 25-19, 25-23 over Hersey. Cayla Hausler paced the Tigers with 8 kills. Gabriella Olhava and Liz Fuerst led the Huskies with 6 kills each.
"That was a tough tough loss," said Hersey coach Nancy Lill. "We thought we should have been playing in the championship match. We had nothing left in the third match. We were mentally and physically gassed. Overall for the day I thought we played well."
After the Top 4, Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic was fifth followed by Boylan (sixth), Dundee-Crown (seventh), Jacobs (eighth), Belvidere North (ninth), Stevenson (10th), Barrington (11th) and Hampshire (12th).
Dundee-Crown beat Hampshire and Jacobs but lost to CL Central and Waukesha Catholic twice. Kiana Mays (25 kills, 3 blocks), Bre Novak (19 kills, 21 digs, 10 aces), Frankie Cavallaro (18 kills, 46 assists, 19 digs, 3 blocks), Kailey Moll (11 kills, 9 blocks), Emma Brant (9 kills, 7 aces, 6 blocks), Ali Buckley (14 assists), Mandy Mosher (11 digs, 9 assists), Gina Pagano (23 digs, 7 aces), Lauren Lococo (11 digs) and Kathyrn Novy (4 blocks) led the Chargers (5-3) on the day.
Hampshire had a tough day, losing to Stevenson, Waukesha Catholic, Barrington, CL Central and D-C. Erin Foss had 21 kills and Brittany Laffin 66 assists for the Whip-Purs.
John Radtke contributed to this report