Girls volleyball: Scouting Fox Valley area sectionals
By John Lemon and Mike Miazga
jlemon@dailyherald.com
Class 4A Geneva sectionalPairings: Tuesday's semifinals pit Geneva vs. Neuqua Valley at 5:30 p.m., followed by Wheaton North vs. St. Francis. Championship is at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Outlook: Geneva didn't lose at home this year, a statistic the Vikings hope to extend for two more matches this week.
Coach Annie Seitelman's squad puts their No. 1 seed and 35-1 record on the line at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday against No. 5 seed Neuqua Valley (27-10).
"We're hoping for that homecourt advantage," Seitelman said. "When we put in to host a regional or sectional, we are very fortunate especially with the level of competition of the teams that are coming in to be playing on our home court and hopefully have a little bit more of a comfort level for us."
The Vikings beat the Wildcats during the regular season, 25-12, 25-23 at the Wheaton Classic.
"It definitely helps to have seen them and played them before but with that being so early in the season, you anticipate teams have made some changes and obviously everyone has gotten better as the season has gone on," Seitelman said. "It's nice to see them but you can't take them for granted. They have a couple lefty setters that is a little different look than we are used to but we're doing our best to prepare with our game plan and make sure we execute on our side."
Neuqua Valley, coached by Kelly Simon, is led by Kora Kauling (Wichita State) and Maria Mayhew who combined for 17 kills and 22 assists to lead the Wildcats past St. Charles East in the regional finals, 25-20, 25-20.
Senior setter Mikayla Lanasa directs an experienced Geneva lineup. She has 811 assists and 26 aces heading into sectional play.
Senior outsides Grace Loberg (330 kills, .363 hitting percentage, 33 blocks, 206 digs) and Ally Barrett (296 kills, .325 hitting percentage, 58 aces, 20 blocks, 195 digs) provide plenty of power from the outside while Lanasa also likes to get her middles involved. Ally Mullen has 142 kills and 39 blocks, and Julia Brown has 113 kills and a team-high 43 blocks.
Juniors Molly Lambillotte (46 aces) and libero Payton Bellano (38 aces, 261 digs) are the only non-seniors in Geneva's rotation and two more keys to the Vikings' success.
The second semifinal Tuesday pits the No. 2 and 3 seeds, Wheaton North (30-7) and St. Francis (29-8). Geneva didn't play the Falcons this year; they did knock off St. Francis 25-20, 22-25, 25-11.
"That's going to be a great match," Seitelman said. "Both offer a lot of strengths. St. Francis has that tradition. Both matches on Tuesday are going to be great competition and hopefully we'll be on the winning end of that first one and do more scouting and stuff during that second match."
The sectional winner advances to the Hinsdale South supersectional Saturday, possibly against the only team to beat Geneva this year, Benet (31-5). But the Redwings aren't even favored to advance out of the Marist sectional where Mother McAuley is the No. 1 seed.
"I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't keeping a little eye on it," Seitelman said. "You do have to think big picture but you also want to keep the kids grounded taking it one point and one match at a time and not letting ourselves get too far ahead."
Class 4A Huntley sectionalThe pairings: Huntley vs. DeKalb (Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., followed by Crystal Lake Central vs. Prairie Ridge. Winners play Thursday for sectional title. Sectional winner advances to Saturday's Dundee-Crown supersectional in Carpentersville.
Outlook: Top-seeded Huntley (27-5) is thriving thanks to the contributions of many. Southeast Missouri-bound outside hitter Ally Dion leads the way with an impressive 404 kills and 414 digs. Julia Johnson (219 kills), Aleah Amelio (175 kills) and Caitlyn Thorlieus (145 kills, McHenry County College recruit) also have been important options for freshman setting standout Taylor Jakubowski (836 assists). Red Raiders coach Karen Naymola also has been pleased with the blocking duo of Marissa Deem and Loren Alberts. Sarah Zayas (393 digs) and Josie Schmitendorf (263 digs) have been back-row constants.
"Offensively we run a fast offense and this past week we've been working on speeding up the tempo of our passes on serve-receive and defense so we can keep the fast offense going," said Naymola. "The nice thing about this team is we have so many different offensive threats. We know we can rely on Ally, but it's nice that we can spread it out."
DeKalb (19-13, No. 5 sectional seed) has won four matches in a row and is led by junior outside hitter Hannah Oehlberg, senior setter JC Longeville, junior middle blocker Jasmine Kemp and senior libero Abby Boyden.
"Our setters are doing a great job of connecting with their hitters and putting them into a great position to score," Barbs coach Jamie DiMaggio said. "We're playing strong at the net, which is helping our defense to be more successful as well." Naymola said consistency will be a key against DeKalb. "We know DeKalb has good players," she said. "We have to keep running our fast offense and make sure we play our game."
DiMaggio said her team has been focusing on passing. "If our serve-receive is consistent, I think we could put ourselves in a really good position," she said.
The other matchup features a pair of Fox Valley Conference stalwarts. Central is the No. 2 seed in the sectional, while Prairie Ridge is No. 3. The Wolves (20-13) are led by junior outside hitter Emily Baudin (37 aces, 221 kills), junior libero Mackenzie Garis (265 digs), sophomore setter Jayden Otto (773 assists) and the middle combination of senior Allie Cole and junior Genesis Sheridan (who is committed to South Carolina).
"We have to reduce our own team errors, be relentless in our attacking and bring energy and be aggressive," said veteran Wolves coach Stefanie Otto, who added her team is excelling at the line and at the net offensively right now.
Huntley has a pair of wins each over Central and Prairie Ridge this season.
Class 3A Freeport sectionalPairings: In Tuesday's semifinals, Kaneland takes on LaSalle-Peru at 5:30 p.m., followed by Sterling vs. Rockford Boylan. Sectional title match is at 6 p.m. Tuesday with the winner advancing to the Mendota supersectional Saturday at 7 p.m.
Outlook: Kaneland (32-4) is in the exact opposite boat as Geneva. Instead of playing at home, the Knights head all the way west to Freeport where they will meet a familiar foe in LaSalle-Peru. The Knights defeated LaSalle-Peru twice this year, 25-19, 25-14 on Sept. 9 and again by the same 25-14, 25-19 scores, only reversed, in the second meeting.
Senior setter Hannah Nauert led the Knights to just their second regional championship in the last 24 years with 47 assists Thursday in a three-set win over Sycamore.
Jessica Weber paced the Knights with 21 kills and Katie Jablonski had 14.
"We are going to get back in the gym and I know everyone is going to work so hard," Nauert said. "We're going to go in the same way we did regional, we know what they (L-P) are capable of but we know what we are capable of. We're just going to play our game and not overthink the other team."
Class 3A Montini sectionalPairings: Trinity plays Glenbard South in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, followed by Rosary vs. Fenwick. Winners play for the sectional title at 6 p.m. Thursday with the sectional champion moving on to the Marian Central sectional on Saturday.
Outlook: Rosary (25-12), the No. 2 seed in the sectional, has won five matches in a row. The Royals have been receiving key contributions from the likes of Meegan Hart (. 517 hitting, 2.9 kills per set, 65 blocks), Julia Gauthier (652 assists) and Martha Konovodoff (2.7 kills per match).
"We're connecting offensively," said Rosary coach Rachel Fox. "Julia is doing a good job running a quick offense along the entire net. Our outsides are mixing up their shots and our middles are always ready to be set. Julia is willing to take risks to give them the ball whenever she can."
Another player to keep an eye on for Rosary is Maya Sullivan, who has 51 kills over her last 10 matches. "Maya has become another offensive weapon for us," said Fox. "She would usually only get a few kills a match, but she is improving that average every match by becoming available and having a quick arm. It helps complement the middle game we already have with Meegan. If both middles are connecting with the setter, we always have a good, quick option in the front row at all times."
Blocking and defense will be at the top of mind for Fox against Fenwick, the No. 3 seed. "We will need to set up a solid block on the outside and have a good defense around our block," she said. "If we can keep the ball in play and find our middles, it will put us in a good situation."
The other match features a Trinity team that knocked 2015 Class 2A state qualifier and Montini sectional No. 1 seed Timothy Christian out of the playoffs. Eighth-seeded Trinity is 20-17 and has won 10 of its last 13. Senior outside hitter Carly Uhlir has 261 kills, while senior outside Sarah Whiteside has 165 kills.
"We believe it's all about pressure," said Trinity coach Ken Uhlir. "If we handle the pressure on our end and put pressure on our opponents, we can compete with anyone."
Glenbard South, the No. 4 seed, brings a 22-15 mark into the match. The Raiders have balance on offense with senior right side Bella Bauman (beach volleyball commit to Grand Canyon University, 205 kills), sophomore middle Maggie Bair (177 kills, 58 blocks) and freshman outside Kathleen Millett (165 kills, 160 digs, 28 aces). Senior libero Allie Sims has 338 digs and 31 aces.
"We need to slow down Trinity's outside hitters," said Glenbard South coach Chad Grant. "They can hit a variety of shots offensively and they don't make a lot of errors. This starts with our serving and trying to make them predictable. We also must get good touches on the net with our block."
Class 2A Byron sectionalPairings: Keith Country Day faces Fulton in the 5:30 p.m. semifinal on Tuesday, followed by Harvest Christian vs. Dakota. Winners return Thursday at 6 p.m. for the sectional title and a berth in the Putnam County supersectional Saturday.
Outlook: Harvest comes into Byron at 27-10. Coach Mike Bui's squad has benefitted from the play of Mikalya Robinson (390 kills, 89 blocks), Amanda Cassidy (246 kills, 81 aces, 238 digs) and setter Kaitlin Murray (460 assists).
"Our first contact has been solid of late," said Bui. "We have served well this year, but as of late we have been keeping teams out of system. We are getting great touches from our blockers. It's been easy for our defense to dig balls when our blockers are doing their job. Offensively, the entire team is pitching in to score points and Kaitlin has been doing a great job of running our offense as a young setter."
Hannah Griffith also has stepped up for the Lions. "Hannah has been a key player," said Bui. "We are asking her to do a lot and it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. She's responsible in our blocking scheme to block two different players at once. She passes and plays defense as a middle and she serves well to put the other team out of system."
Bui said that team-first mentality must be on display in Byron this week. "As we continue on in the postseason the competition only gets tougher," he said. "We have to continue to serve aggressive and serve-receive well and maintain our composure on the court. Every kid on the court needs to continue to contribute offensively and defensively. The key thing is to play together, trust each other and follow the game plan."
Harvest is the No. 2 seed out of the B subsectional at Byron, while Dakota is the No. 1 seed out of the A subsectional.
The other match features Rockford Keith Country Day, the No. 1 B seed, facing A subsectional No. 3 seed Fulton. Keith Country Day, a perennial small-school power, is 35-2 this season and swept through the Northeastern Athletic Conference at 11-0. Outside hitter Ali Lipton had 291 kills and is hitting .412, while Notre Dame setting commit Zoe Nunez has 751 assists to go with 190 kills. "We need to perform at a high level, especially with first contact," said Keith coach Steve Williams. "We have to start strong, get out fast and work hard for every point and defend."
The Fulton Steamers are 26-11, but are 9-1 over the last two weeks. "Our strengths right now are serving, hitting and playing with energy and a never-die attitude," Steamers coach Stacy Germann said. "(Against Keith Country Day), we will need to have consistent passing, strong front-line blocking and hitting."
Brooke Huizenga leads Fulton with 253 kills, while Jordan Price has 184 kills. Rachael Huizenga (141 kills) and Phoebe Tiesman (137 kills) are other key offensive options. Jensen Schrader leads the team in aces (51) and is second in digs (166).