Girls volleyball: Fremd tops Rolling Meadows to win MSL
The third time was the charm for Fremd girls volleyball coach Pete Gavin.
And for Victoria Belmonte, the Mid-Suburban West Player of the Year, the second time playing a full season in her time as a Viking has been a charmed journey.
In his third season in charge at Fremd, Gavin watched his Vikings win the program's fourth Mid-Suburban League championship and first since 2019 on Thursday night with a 25-21, 25-10 triumph over host and Mid-Suburban East champ Rolling Meadows in the 52nd edition of the showcase event.
It was a sweet ending to Belmonte's final high school regular season as she led the Vikings (29-6) with a match-high 15 assists, 2 kills and a block.
The senior missed her sophomore and junior years due to three surgeries on her right knee.
"I'm so proud of our team going undefeated in conference (10-0)," said the Vikings' setter, whose top targets were senior Sasha Sallade (6 kills), junior Akshara Jay (6) and freshman Harper Neill (3). "It's just amazing to see.
"We just played as a team. We knew we were a good team so playing with such great energy got us the win. It feels good to be back on the court my senior year."
"She's had a tough road and I know she even considered not playing any more," Gavin said. "Man, am I thankful she's still playing. She has been an absolute difference maker switching positions (from right-side hitter as a freshman) and I can't say enough about her. She's an awesome kid. Colleges need to look at her because she is getting healthier and healthier. She is a stud."
Seven straight points from MSL East Player of the Year Lucy Pufundt gave Meadows an 8-3 lead in set one. The Vikings charged back and nudged ahead 12-10 on 6 straight service points from Katelyn Chuang.
The set was tied at 18-18 before Fremd outscored the Mustangs 7 -3 the rest of the way, capped by a Belmonte and Karmazin's double block and Belmonte's second-attack kill for the final two points.
"We have a lot of weapons," Gavin added. "This team is really balanced, which is something we kind saw in the summer. Although we struggled at it a little early in the season, serve and serve receive (led by Ashley Brim, Ella Castelloni, Neill and Chuang on Thursday) has been a strength of ours all season.
"We've got hitters at every position and it's really fun to see. And they're an awesome group of girls who have worked so hard to get us to this point."
Neill worked ever-so-efficiently at the service line in the second set , reeling off nine straight points (2 aces) to give the visitors an 13-2 cushion from which Meadows (27-8) could never recover.
The freshman said she is just happy to be a part of the team.
"This feels really good," said Neill who served 13 straight points against Conant this fall. "Even though I am a freshman, I know all my teammates are always there for me and making sure I am OK. I know they wanted this so badly this season so I'm glad to be able to contribute."
"She (Neill) is a stud and we knew she was going to be special," Gavin said. "Her sister (Hallie, now playing at Wisconsin-Parkside) was my setter two years ago and one of my favorite kids of all time. Greta Thompson got injured and Harper stepped in and has been doing an amazing job."
The Vikes built the lead to 18-6 on a back-to-back dink and slam kill from Sallade before Castelloni eventually served for 4 straight points.
"This feels great," said Sallade, a three-year varsity player. "We've been waiting for this a long time and I think we really deserved it this season. We've been working so hard. I think we were a little nervous in the first set but we really stepped it up in the second."
Pufundt led the Mustangs with 6 kills while Mary Hamann had a pair. Libero Jelena Jevtic produced some big digs in the backcourt.
"I thought we competed really hard in the first set," said Meadows coach Jack Nickle, who had the Mustangs playing in their first title match since 1998. "And then Fremd had a little run to close it out. We knew what we had to fix going into the second set but we really didn't get it back together. We lost the momentum at the end of the first set and just didn't get it back in the second.
"It was nice to play in an atmosphere like this. It was a really good experience for us. I think going into the postseason we can really learn a lot from tonight.
"But hats off top Fremd. That's a very talented team, a big physical team and very well coached. I wouldn't say our girls had a 'happy-to-be-here' mentality but we appreciate what we’ve done so far. We definitely wanted to come out and win this match but we appreciate everything we've done so far, some that haven't happened here in a really long time."