Hersey too much for Mundelein in semis

The Hersey girls volleyball team (35-3) has been tough to beat all season.

And when senior setter Joanna Hoffman blocks the way she did in a sectional semifinal against Mundelein on Tuesday at Stevenson, the Huskies are close to unbeatable. Hoffman had 3 solo blocks, and the No. 1 seed Huskies rode a tremendous serving performance to a 25-18, 25-10 victory.

Hersey will play for the sectional title at 7 p.m. Thursday against Lake Zurich (32-6). The No. 2 Bears advanced with a 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Fremd.

At the Hersey Invite, the Huskies rallied to defeat Lake Zurich 22-25, 25-21, 26-24 in the championship match.

In the second game against No. 5 Mundelein (27-10), Hoffman came through with a block to give the Huskies an 11-8 advantage. Another solo block by Hoffman increased Hersey's lead to 15-9.

Hoffman said even she was surprised with the way she blocked. Coach Nancy Lill said it was Hoffman's best blocking performance.

"It was obvious she wanted this game," Lill said.

Hoffman proceeded to serve eight consecutive service points, four of which were aces. She had 6 of Hersey's 11 aces.

"I was able to key in on one place to serve and I kept going with it," Hoffman said.

Hersey's serving put constant pressure on Mundelein. When the two teams played at the Hersey Invitational, the match went to three games.

"Our aggressive serving broke down their serve-receive," Lill said. "They couldn't get into their offense."

Added Mundelein coach George Dressen Jr.: "The first time we played them our serve-receive was right on the money. Tonight they served us back on the end line and it caught us off guard."

Hersey could see Mundelein becoming frustrated.

"I sensed that about halfway through the first game," senior outside hitter Katie Lill said. "We totally made a statement."

While Mundelein was struggling with its serve-receive, the Huskies received excellent play from their back row.

Hoffman (21 assists) spread the wealth around. Junior Christine Solans and senior middle blocker Maddie Swan each had 6 kills. Swan also registered 3 blocks. Senior middle blocker Jamie Welter and Lill contributed 5 and 4 kills, respectively.

"Our middles were on fire," Nancy Lill said.

Megan Barron (6 kills) and Brittany Jones (5 kills) led Mundelein's attack. Mundelein reached the sectionals by defeating Lake Forest 25-17, 25-21 in the regional championship.

"That was our first regional title since 2002," Dressen said. "The Lake Forest match is the one we'll remember most."