Girls volleyball: Hersey overcomes fatigue to clinch Prospect invite championship

Heading into its last match of the Pifer Invite at Prospect High School on Saturday, Hersey's girls volleyball team was 4-0 in the six-team, round-robin event.

“We were all tired,” said Huskies senior Macey Teuscher. “But it felt great to finish strong.”

No one was stronger than Teuscher, who put down 5 kills as Hersey raced to a 9-2 lead over Lake Park en route to a 25-12, 25-23 victory that secured Hersey's 5-0 record and first tourney title this season.

Teuscher finished with a match-high 11 kills as Hersey raised its record to 15-9, winning three matches in two sets. The Huskies' three-set wins came over Palatine (4-1) and Prospect (3-2), the second- and third-place finishers.

“You know when it comes down to the last match it's who has the most energy, and Macey really stepped up,” said Hersey coach Laura Gerber. “Just like she stepped up all day. She's had a really nice season.”

Against Hersey, Lake Park coach Brett Anetsberger's team raced ahead 3-0 in the second set on service points from freshman Evelyn Voytek. But senior Mia Aguado answered with seven straight points to put the Huskies on top 8-3. The lead went to 9-4 when libero Freya McBride made a beautiful diving dig that led to a kill by junior Mahi Vullakula.

Back-to-back aces from Makena Townsend got Lake Park to within 18-16. The Lancers trailed 20-18 thanks to a block from senior Leah Hawa before Hersey charged ahead 24-18 after 4 service points from senior Chelsea Kim. Amirah Dyer served the Lancers to within 24-23, including 2 aces and a kill from Townsend before Hersey put it away on a kill by freshman Morgan Matteucci.

Seniors Vicky Vasilopoulos and Kaitlyn Seifert directed the Huskies' offense.

“It feels great,” Teuscher said. “We started out a little slow in the morning but strong at the end. The biggest key was staying loud, supporting each other and staying together.”

Hersey was together from the very start, winning 19-25, 25-15, 15-13 over Palatine (18-4) in its first match at 8 a.m.

“It was great to play against a team like Hersey, which blocked phenomenally,” said Palatine coach Dan Gavin. “And I think we learned a lot from that match. We haven't seen a lot of teams that block at their level. It made us smarter. It made us talk a little more, and at this time of the season it's all about getting better and I think we did that today. Congrats to Hersey. I think they had a great tournament.”

Gavin praised some top efforts.

“I was super proud of how Zoe (Johnson) finished her day,” he said. “She was a little frustrated after that first match, but she is just a hard-working, high-character kid. She rebounded really well and helped us the rest of the day.

“I thought Alaina (Ratay) was setting very well. She was making very smart sets toward the end of the day and understanding where the ball needed to go. Brooklyn (Chesak) had a great day offensively, and I thought Sydney Branch played really great her last three matches. She anchored our serve receive and we saw some glimpses of great defense from her which is something she has been working on.”

After three two-set wins, Prospect lost in two sets to Hersey and Palatine.

“The girls looked really good in our first three matches,” said first-year Knights coach Alaina Mowinski. “We were competitive, scrappy and aggressive, and then we kind of fell apart in our last two matches (against Hersey and Palatine), who we had lost to earlier in the season, too.

“I thought Ana Range did a really good job. Alli Linke looked really good in the first three matches and our new libero, Lila (Zlydaszyk, a sophomore), is in her first season on varsity. She does not play libero often but did today and she looked good.”

Rounding out the field were Crystal Lake South and Maine East.

Blue Demons coach Rintu Phillip was encouraged by his team's performance, which included a 25-23 set loss to Palatine.

“Our outside hitters are stepping up big time,” Phillip said. “And our libero has been carrying our defense and serve receive.

“Overall, this was a great tournament for us. We had the opportunity to compete against high-level volleyball teams and we are competing with them. We are leveling up to their kind of game, which is kind of cool to see. That's the best part of this tournament, to see some girls get to taste what they'll experience in the state playoffs.”