Girls volleyball: Rolling Meadows, Barrington advance to MSL championship game
When setter Lainey Griffiths and outside hitter Bella Zielinski helped lead Rolling Meadows girls volleyball team to the Mid-Suburban League East title two years ago as sophomores, it was the Mustangs' first divisional crown in 26 years.
Last week, the dynamic duo made sure to pocket one more for the program when they won the MSL West with a 10-0 record.
In Thursday's MSL championship semifinal at Hersey, Griffiths and Zielinski made sure they'd play in one more title game before they graduate next spring.
With Griffiths, the school's all-time leader in assists (during the rally scoring-era) with more than 1,300, and Zielinski, the program's leader in kills (more than 700) during that same stretch, helping to pace the way, Meadows (24-5) earned an 18-25, 26-24, 25-22 triumph over Hersey (23-8) and will face East champ Barrington next Thursday for the MSL crown.
"It's really exciting," Griffiths said. “After that first set, we really knew we had something to prove. We knew we needed to pass, and everyone stepped up. We came out and were so aggressive. I know our connection had been off but once we got into the swing of things, we had it by the third set."
Griffiths was really connecting with sophomore Sophie Wery in the final set. Wery had three kills and two blocks in the set, including the match winner on a quick set from Griffiths.
"Sophie is an incredible athlete," Mustangs coach Jack Nickle said. "We're looking forward to seeing what she can do the next two seasons."
The Mustangs moved forward from the first set, pulling out a tight 26-24 decision, holding off one match point before Zielinski put down the final two kills.
"We just went into the second set with a different mindset," Zielinski said. "I don't feel we started the match all that great. In the second set, we wanted to be as strong as possible and not fall behind."
Hersey fell behind 10-6 and 17-12 thanks to two service points from libero Ashley Perns in the third set but came back to within 20-19 before Meadows grabbed the lead for good on two service points from Zielinski, including an ace for a 22-19 lead.
"I'm so proud of everyone," Griffiths said. "We all played so much better than the first set."
The first set saw Hersey pull away to a 6-2 lead, thanks to back-to-back kills by Cassidy O'Brien and an ace by Avery Bashford. Leading 7-3, O'Brien served five straight points for a 12-3 lead that included a kill from Mahi Vullakula and ace from O'Brien.
Freya McBride's two service points made it 20-9, thanks in part to Morgan Matteucci's slam to the floor (4 kills).
Hersey took its biggest lead at 24-13 on a kill from Vullakula and ace from Audrey Varjavandi before Meadows senior Giselle Vasquez made things interesting with five straight points before Hersey put it away.
"Rolling Meadows had a great match," said Hersey coach Laura Gerber, who received some key kills from O'Brien and Lily Mattix. "They played tough. They never let up. They just kept swinging and we struggled to defend their offense. We had a hard time serving but they just played really well and we could not beat them."
"Lainey and Bella have really been strong leaders for us," Nickel said. "This is a group that has really wanted this and they've really wanted to do it together. Even in the summer, a lot of the seniors came to me and said how they really wanted this season to be special."
Thursday was certainly a special night for the Mustangs, as they got a chance to play in their second MSL title match in three years.
Barrington d. Wheeling: In the other MSL semifinal, Barrington (22-7, 10-0) posted a 25-19, 25-15 victory over visiting Wheeling (19-10, 7-3).
Leading the Fillies' attack were Kalyn Brookbank (20 kills), Maddie Black (four kills) and Lexi Szlezak, (three kills). Eve Adler set the offense with 20 assists.
Leading the defense were Toni Rojas (13 digs), Adler (10) and Kinley Shinhoster (four).