Breaking down girls volleyball sectionals
Barrington Class 4A sectional
When and where: Regional quarterfinals and semifinals are Thursday and finals are Saturday at Libertyville, Warren, Buffalo Grove and Hersey. Sectional semifinals are Nov. 4 and finals are Nov. 6 at Barrington.
Top four seeds: 1. Lake Zurich; 2. Hersey; 3. Conant; 4. Fremd.
Outlook: This is like a Mid-Suburban League postseason tourney with all 12 teams. Lake Zurich is at the Libertyville regional and beat Hersey 25-13, 23-25, 25-21 to win the Hersey Invite earlier this fall. The Bears also topped Fremd (29-6) in an early nonconference match. Hersey (27-8) defeated Conant 25-16, 25-17 for the MSL title last week and could meet again in the sectional semifinals. "Any of the top four teams could win it," said Conant coach Peggy Scholten. "It's whoever steps up on that given night. And there's no given that one of those teams will reach the final. We had to battle to beat Schaumburg (late in the season). They are among the teams coming on strong." The Saxons (13-22), a sectional finalist last fall, are the No. 14 seed and have won four straight.
The BG regional is an all-MSL event with No. 4 Fremd, No. 5 Elk Grove (23-12), No. 12 Hoffman Estates, No. 13 Rolling Meadows and No. 17 Bison.
Fair play for play-ins? Wheeling (18), Schaumburg (14), Buffalo Grove (17) and Palatine (15) have play-in matches Thursday. If they win, they advance to their semifinal match approximately an hour later. "I don't think (playing two matches in one night) is fair to the sport of volleyball," said Meadows coach Janet Opels. "This is do-or-die and now you are preparing for two matches in one day. Why is volleyball different from other sports? Last year, when our setter got hurt, she couldn't play up to her potential in the next match. Now if you have a day's rest, she might have been ready and back to full strength for that next match. I dislike this immensely."
Final word: "This is a difficult sectional," said St. Viator coach Charlie Curtin, whose team is seeded No. 9. "A lot of people are playing good volleyball now."
Highland Park Class 4A sectional
When and where: Regional quarterfinals and semifinals are Thursday and finals are Saturday at Maine South, Glenbrook North, Evanston and Deerfield. Sectional semifinals are Nov. 4 and finals are Nov. 6 at Highland Park.
Top four seeds: 1. Evanston; 2. Stevenson; 3. New Trier; 4. Glenbrook South.
Outlook: Maine West, the No. 8 seed, and Glenbrook North, the No. 7, tied for first in the Central Suburban North. The Warriors (23-12) will open against No. 9 Resurrection in Thursday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal at Evanston. "I think we are fairly evenly matched with them," said Warriors coach Randy Tiller. "They play in a tough GCAC Red Division, playing teams like Mother McAuley and St. Ignatius. I'm sure they're scrappy and probably play good defense. They don't have a lot of height." The Warriors are coming off a 10th-place finish in their 24-team Pumpkin Invite and their third straight share of the CSL North title.
Big numbers: West senior Alise Tupuritis finished the regular season with 325 kills, and has 757 the last three years on the varsity. She will be playing Division I volleyball next season at Bradley University.