Bartlett escapes Wheaton North

It was a postseason volleyball match in which records and seeds were utterly irrelevant.

Wheaton North, the No. 13 seed of the Class 4A Geneva sectional, had Bartlett, the fourth seed, on the ropes all evening. But the Hawks found a way to survive.

With the Falcons desperately seeking to extend the third game, Bartlett setter Alyssa Cazzato capped off her 30th assist in style. The senior found Kelly Kraft, whose blistering kill in the back-left corner dispatched Wheaton North 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 in the second semifinal of the St. Charles North regional on Thursday night. Bartlett (24-11) will meet Upstate Eight Conference rival and host St. Charles North Saturday afternoon for the championship. The North Stars (24-11) have beaten the Hawks twice already this season.

Wheaton North, which disposed Lake Park (11-24) in straight games in the play-in match, ended its season at 16-20.

"It was an amazing feeling at the end," Kraft said of her match-clinching kill.

Carly Sahagian had been brilliant all evening for Bartlett; the Tennessee-bound standout blistered Wheaton North for 20 kills, virtually all coming from Cazatto sets, but the tendency for unheralded players to shine in the playoffs was evident all night.

Wheaton North senior Lauren Ralph nearly spoiled the show for the Hawks' expected third encounter with the North Stars. The Falcons' exclusively front-row player was on a mission the entire evening as well. Ralph recorded 7 blocks for points in the second game alone, stoning vicious Sahagian kill attempts on a regular basis to will the Falcons to the second-game upset.

"It was probably my best game I've ever played in my life," said Ralph, who added 8 kills, of which nearly every one came at critical times. "I knew it was going to be my last (competitive) game ever and I didn't want to leave anything out there."

The Falcons' Kesley Ullrich and Liz Gulick were equally motivated for Wheaton North, which led consistently throughout all three games. But Bartlett found a response at the critical time, rallying for wins by the narrowest of margins in their bookend 25-23 wins.

It was Cazzato who orchestrated the Bartlett attack all evening, setting up Sahagian with room-service feeds when momentums swings and nerves were ever-changing.

"Our passing was excellent," Cazzato said. "Our back row stepped it up. (Sahagian) is so good. She is my girl. I always found her the ball. We definitely worked as a team."

Jacki Gulczynski had all 3 of her kills in the final 6 points to set up the Kraft winner.