Remy's block lifts Immaculate Conception past Latin

It was the moment of truth for Kellyanne Remy and Immaculate Conception.

Latin School junior Meredith Boughman had dominated the teams' Class 2A Aurora Christian girls volleyball sectional semifinal in the third and decisive game, leading the Romans to a 4-point spread in the closing moments.

But Remy, the Knights' sophomore, had the ultimate response: a match-changing block for a point against Boughman, and IC took over from there. The Knights' pulse-pounding 24-26, 25-14 and 25-23 victory in Aurora Tuesday night was later completed when IC scored 6 of the final 7 points following the Remy block.

"My coach (Jean Field) told me to stay with (Boughman)," Remy said. "(The block) changed the game."

With its come-from-behind three-game victory, IC (26-12) earned a championship date with Westmont, which dispatched Walther Lutheran in straight games, Thursday night.

Immaculate Conception did not take its first advantage of the decisive third game until Maggie Ryan provided the club with a 14-13 lead with a solid kill. But Latin (22-8), a North Side private school renowned for its performing arts, solidified its reputation in brilliant fashion. Peyton Pritkin, the Romans' floor leader who led both teams with 26 assists, had a no-look kill to complete a 9-4 run and establish a 22-18 lead.

Remy, however, turned the tide with her altering block, and Maggie Ryan halved the Knights' deficit with the last of the teams' 15 combined aces. Consecutive Latin hitting errors tied the game at 22-22, and Abby West, the Knights' senior leader, had the final of her team-leading 7 kills to give IC the lead.

"We came this far," said West, a four-year varsity starter, "we're not going to give up."

Boughman had the last of her match-high 9 kills, 7 of which came in the third game, to forge the final tie at 23-23. But a miscommunication cost the Romans dearly on the penultimate point, and Kathleen Ryan, one of three freshman IC starters, served match point as the Knights advanced to their consecutive sectional final.

In the first game which only served to illuminate the teams' similar abilities, IC fought back, twice erasing 4-point deficits to punctuate game point. But Latin forged the last of 14 ties, and Pritkin had the game-winner for the Romans.

"Being the shortest player on the team, I have to rely on my jumping ability," said Pritkin. IC, though, was not finished; the team broke free from another donnybrook as Ryan cemented the Knights' 11-1 second-game-closing run with seven straight service points.