Blazers goes out strong
St. Charles North's volleyball team had a practice scrimmage on Wednesday, and the winning team took the court against Addison Trail on Thursday in a Class 4A regional semifinal.
A collection of JV players and freshmen that helped the North Stars gut out a 25-20, 25-17 win over the Blazers to advance to Saturday's regional title game against third-seeded York.
"We had a different lineup than we usually do, and we just had to stay focused," said North Stars junior Olivia Schneider, who had 19 assists in her debut as a varsity setter.
"We worked hard, played together, and tried to get as many runs as we could."
"Olivia certainly deserves a lot of credit," said North Stars coach Lindsay Trudell. "That's the first time she has set, and she ran a 5-1 and played well."
The sixth-seeded North Stars (20-16) and the No. 11 Blazers (14-21) took turns making runs at one another, but it was St. Charles North's ability to pick its game up a notch as the night wore on that may have been the difference.
"Certainly our serving got better," Trudell said. "We were sort of looping balls over in Game 1, but then nerves were a part of that. And we got more aggressive in the front row."
"A lot of those girls didn't play a lot during the season, but certainly they didn't want to let anyone down. They were focused and intense, and I think they got better as the night went on."
Addison Trail fought back from deficits throughout the first game, pulling to within a point at 20-19 on a Casey D'Ambrose kill before the North Stars got a pair of kills from Kelsey Smith and an ace from Allie Van Dril down the stretch to key the win.
The Blazers led 8-4 in the second game before a kill by the North Stars' Kristin Nelson set up a 6-point run behind teammate Miranda Coello's serving to give St. Charles North an 11-8 edge and a lead it wouldn't again relinquish.
Stephanie Rasmussen finished the night with 12 digs and 4 kills, Coello posted 14 digs, and Van Dril had 6 kills for the North Stars, who also got 7 digs and 3 kills from Nelson, and 3 kills from Kim Juriga.
D'Ambrose finished with 7 digs, 5 assists, 3 digs, and 3 blocks for the Blazers, Giana Casciola had 8 digs and 5 kills, Nikki Zdrahel had 12 digs, Tori Boyd had 8 blocks, and Marissa Liberio finished with 9 assists for coach Jill Petrbok. Robyn Hart also chipped in 2 digs, 1 kill, and 1 block.
"It's sad that the season's over, but they went out strong," Petrbok said. "I'm proud of them. It could have gone either way tonight. It was a battle."