Girls volleyball: Rolling Meadows takes care of Hoffman Estates
When Rolling Meadows fell behind Hoffman Estates 5-2 to start Monday's play-in match of the Hawks' Class 4A girls volleyball regional, there was no panic from the Mustangs.
"I think it was just getting into the fact that it was a regional," said RM coach Katie Stensland. "We just needed to calm down and figure out the gym. We'd been off for six days so we just had to get the jitters out and get ready to play."
That's exactly what the No. 5 seeded Mustangs did as they came back with two solid sets en route to a 25-14, 25-11 triumph over No. 21 Hoffman (2-34).
The Mustangs (17-19) will face No. 5 Buffalo Grove (20-11) in today's 6:30 p.m. semifinal looking for their first win in four tries against the Mid-Suburban League East champs.
"We're hoping the fourth time is the charm," said Mustangs senior outside hitter Elise Kowalski, who netted a match-high 8 kills and served 2 aces.
"Elise served very well," Stensland said. "And worked hard in transition to get back onto the offense so she could have a good eye on the ball for those attacks."
Other top attacks came from Ashlyn Ryan (7 kills), Eleanor Errico (6), Leticia Avellaneda (2) and Patrycja Winnicki (1).
As usual, senior setter Natalie Klancnik operated the offense with 20 assists and an ace. Teammate Sophia Salemi also had a pair of aces while Ryan, Avellaneda and Maggie Goodwin each had one.
BG defeated Meadows twice in two sets and once in three. "It's the fourth time," Stensland said. "They're a fun team to play. I'm excited and I know the girls are, too."
Errico ended the match with kill that pin-balled off three different Hawks.
"Our kids have fought like that all season," said first-year Hoffman coach Patrick Moran. "Even on that last point, I had girls who wanted to go into the bleachers to keep that ball from hitting the floor. Obviously, it's a disappointing outcome but I'm proud of how hard my girls competed.
"Several of our matches were three sets this season. Our conference was very strong this season but I thought we played everyone tough. We gave talented teams like Barrington, Fremd and Palatine all they could handle. We'll miss our seniors (Jenny Santos, Sarah Benson, Rylee Benson, Colleen Golliher, Emily Hunt, Kathryn Sklena and Raven Wilson) who provided a lot of great leadership. With that said, we do have some juniors and sophomores coming back so I'm very excited about the future and excited to make noise next year."