Girls volleyball: Stevenson rallies for hard fought regional championship win over Palatine

Trailing 24-18 in the first set, No. 4 seeded Stevenson roared back for the win and then took a close second set to edge No. 5 Palatine 28-26, 25-23 in the championship match of the Conant Class 4A regional.

Coach Tim Crow's Patriots (22-15), who won the program's 30th regional and a second straight, advance to Tuesday's 6 p.m. semifinal of the Fremd sectional to face the host and top-seeded Vikings.

Ava Wysocki ( 14 kills, 2 blocks, 5 digs), Abby Inman (8 kills, 1 ace, 1 block, 8 digs) and Audri Linnane (6 kills, 1 block) were top attackers for Stevenson while Ryler Bondad ran the offense with 26 assists and also collected 8 digs, 2 aces and 2 kills. Lilly Zhou had 4 aces, 14 digs and 2 assists.

Coach Dan Gavin's Pirates completed the season at 22-14.

At Prospect: No. 2 Barrington (28-9) fell behind 8-2 to a fired-up host team before charging back for a 25-22, 25-14 triumph over No. 10 Prospect (14-20) to claim their fourth straight regional title under coach Michelle Mayer.

Barrington, which now has 18 regional crowns, will face Rolling Meadows in the 7 p.m. sectional semifinal at the Class 4A Fremd sectional on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Senior outside Whitney Mall put down a season-high 14 kills to lead the Fillies' offense which also received 6 kills from Addie Brookbank and 3 apiece from Lexi Szlezak and Kalyn Brookbank. Setting the offense were Eve Sadler (1 ace) and Jaelyn Connole, who served 5 straight points, including an ace, to give the Fillies a 10-5 lead in Set 2.

Libero Ella Krull also had an ace and 6 digs. Alessandra Mirkovick and Alex Pelletiere each had blocks.

"We graduated a few people from last season and not many of our players had been on the court for a (regional) championship game," Mayer said. "We just had to get past our nerves."

The first set was tied 20-20 before Krull got the Fillies to set point at 24-20.

"I wasn't worried," Mayer said. "So I just called a timeout and then we went back and had a nice serving run and did what we needed to do.

"In the second set, I think we were calm and just came out and played our game. We did some nice things. It's pretty exciting to get four in a row. It's a great tradition and these girls wanted to continue it and they did."

Aimee Ciupeiu and Alli Linke (2 aces) each had 4 kills for Prospect while Vas Radovanovic had 3. Senior libero Anna Garland sparked the back row with her defensive prowess.

"I'd like to think we are growing a program and we had such a great group of girls this season and so many girls coming up in the next few years who are going to continue to help build something bigger than this season," said Knights first-year coach Katherine Miles. "It just takes a little bit at a time and I was really proud of them this season."

At Dundee Crown: Mid-Suburban East champion and No. 3 seed Rolling Meadows (29-8) recorded a 25-20, 25-14 victory over No. 6 Buffalo Grove (20-15) to win a regional crown. It is Meadows' first regional crown since 2000 and 11th in program history.

"Overall, we played a very good match," said Mustangs coach Jack Nickle. "We served and passed the ball very well which we knew was important to neutralize their physicality a little bit. Every single player made huge contributions offensively and defensively and we are extremely proud of the match we played."

At Buffalo Grove: Mid-Suburban League champion Fremd (31-6) will take its top seed back home to its own sectional after a 25-11, 19-25, 25-21 triumph over vs. No. 8 Lake Zurich (14-18) in the Class 4A Wheeling regional final held at Buffalo Grove High School.

The Vikings, who won their 12th regional in program history and first since 2021, will face Stevenson in the 6 p.m. semifinal on Tuesday.

At Warren: No. 3 Mundelein (24-13) won the ninth regional crown in program history and first since 2010 with a 25-23, 25-18 triumph over the host Blue Devils (21-16), who were seeded No. 2. Mundelein advances to the McHenry sectional to face Huntley in Tuesday's 6 p.m. semifinal.

At Round Lake: Behind some superb serving (9 aces), highlighted by Charlie Fleegle (4 aces), top-seeded Libertyville (26-12) scored a 25-15, 25-21 triumph over No. 6 Jacobs (13-21) at the Round Lake regional final.

Coach Greg Loika's Wildcats will face Hampshire in the 7 p.m. semifinal of the McHenry Class 4A sectional.

Fleegle served the Wildcats to a 7-0 lead, including 3 aces, in Set 1 before Elle Knight put down the winning point. Set 2 was closer. Claire Evans closed out the victory with aces on point 23 and match point.

Molly Lyon (6 kills), Grace Coughlin (4 kills, 2 blocks), Avery Maddux (3 kills), Evans (3 kills) and Knight (3 kills) led the Wildcats' attack while Ella Obourn had 5 digs and 1 ace.

It was Libertyville's 28th regional title and second in four seasons.

At Maine East: No. 5 Glenbrook North (24-10) posted a 25-21, 26-24 win over No. 4 Maine South (21-10) in the Class 4A Maine East regional.

Class 3A

At Ridgewood: St. Viator's Lucy Drake celebrated her birthday with 5 digs, 4 assists, 2 aces and a Class 3A regional title as the No. 3 Lions (27-9) posted a 25-19, 25-17 victory over No. 6. Elmwood Park (19-7-2).

The Lions return home to their own sectional to face No. 2 St. Francis at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. They have now won nine regionals and three in four years.

Avery Albritton (12 kills), Erin Lynch (10 kills) and Olivia Wahlberg (4 kills) led the attack while Isabella Botero handed 11 assists and Paige Oberbroeckling 9.

Lions coach Charlies Curtin was quite familiar with many of the Elmwood Park players. He was a special education teacher at the high school for 15 years and is now at the middle school in the same district.

At Sycamore: No. 4 Burlington Central (27-8) recorded a 25-20, 25-18 victory over No. 5 Vernon Hills (22-13) to win the Class 3A regional.

At Lakes: No. 3 Lakes (21-14) rallied for a 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 triumph over No. 2 Grayslake Central (29-6) in its own Class 3A regional. It was the Eagles' sixth regional title and second in four years.

Lakes will meet Crystal Lake South at the Gators sectional on Tuesday in the 6 p.m. semifinal.

At Antioch: No. 1 Prairie Ridge (24-13) eliminated Carmel from the postseason with a 25-13, 25-23 victory over the No. 4 Corsairs (18-19).