Girls volleyball: Cary-Grove falls to DeKalb in regional final
Cary-Grove girls volleyball coach Patty Langanis summed it up best.
"DeKalb played to win and came out in the first game as the aggressors," she said. "They were fantastic. We played tight and we had trouble with our passing. Our goal every year is to make it to state. So this loss is disappointing."
Langanis' words came after fifth-seeded DeKalb knocked off the fourth-seeded Trojans 25-16, 20-25, 25-18 in the championship game of the Class 4A Larkin regional in Elgin Thursday night.
Cary-Grove ends the 2016 season with a 25-12 record while DeKalb advances to the Huntley sectional to play the host Red Raiders Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Huntley outlasted McHenry 25-21, 25-27, 27-25 to win the Harlem regional.
The Trojans' defense couldn't defend Barbs junior middle blocker Jasmine Kemp, who delivered 26 kills with 8 blocks and 3 aces.
Senior setter Jacqueline Longeville collected 33 assists for the winners.
"Jasmine had a great night against a very good Cary-Grove team," said DeKalb first-year coach Jamie DiMaggio. "Jacqueline did a great job of getting Jasmine the ball in great position to hit. We did a great job of being the aggressors and we stayed calm after Cary-Grove won the second game."
Cary-Grove's lone seniors, Maddy Katchen and Rebecca Elrod, paced the Trojans with 10 kills each
"We lost seven seniors from last year's team which finished third in the state," said Langanis. "Maddy and Becca played great all season and gave us great leadership. We had many highlights this season including beating the (Fox Valley) conference champs Huntley twice."
The aggressive Barbs never trailed in Game 1.
The biggest lead for DeKalb was 21-11 after a kill by Hannah Oehlberg. A kill from Kemp gave DeKalb a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Trojans came out determined to tie the match in Game 2.
Paced by 2 kills each by Katchen, Elrod, Amber Olson and Evynn Layshock, the Trojans jumped out to a 10-3 lead.
DeKalb whittled away at the Cary-Grove advantage and climbed within 3 at 21-18 on a kill by Morgan Karolus. DeKalb couldn't get any closer as a kill by Shaelyn Foy gave the Trojans the game to even the match at 1-1.
The Barbs seized momentum early in the third game. A kill by Oehlberg gave the Barbs a 13-5 advantage. Cary-Grove got to within 3 of the Barbs, 18-15, on a kill by Elrod but couldn't get any closer.
DeKalb claimed the regional championship on a kill from Kemp off an assist by Longeville.