Girls volleyball: Cary-Grove takes down Warren in two

Scouting reports in girls volleyball?

Yes is the simple answer.

"We came very prepared for this match," Cary-Grove outside hitter Evynn Layshock said. "We watched Warren in their match (on Tuesday) and we've watched them on film, too."

Layshock and her team were on display in the Class 4A Lake Zurich regional final on Thursday night. Second-seeded Cary-Grove is headed to the Warren sectional next week after ousting No. 7 Warren 25-15, 25-14. The Trojans will play No. 3 Stevenson in Monday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal.

Cary-Grove (24-9) never trailed in either set, but on Faith Pollard's kill, Warren (19-17) pulled within 12-9 in the opening set.

That's when senior Alexis German went in to serve for Cary-Grove. She notched an ace, Julia Rice put one down, and the Trojans' lead was 15-10.

"We knew Warren would come out with a lot of energy," German said. "So we had to match them with energy. I love everybody on this team."

It was Rice's turn to serve. She had help from a kill from Jenna Splitt, and C-G's lead swelled to 20-12. The first set ended with an ace by libero Amelia Soltis and a Warren hitting error.

German got the party started in the second set with a pair of serving aces. On a block from junior Lauren Passaglia, the Cary-Grove lead grew to 12-4.

A kill from promising sophomore Kendal Crawford pulled the Blue Devils a little closer. Crawford put another one down to cut the Cary-Grove lead to 14-7.

It was Layshock's turn to put on some fireworks for her team. With Splitt serving, her kill made the score 17-8. With German at the line, Layshock put one softly over the net. One slam later, it was 20-9.

"We've been working really hard," Layshock said.

German put the finishing touch on the night with a kill.