Girls volleyball: Cary-Grove claims sectional crown
When a determined Crystal Lake South squad stood on the brink of forcing a deciding third game, top-seeded Cary-Grove responded to the challenge.
Facing game point, Cary-Grove senior Allie Splitt and junior Maddy Katchen delivered clutch kills on perfectly placed sets from Erin Olson.
The Gators then hit long on match point, setting off a jubilant celebration on the Trojans' side as they collected a hard-fought 25-16, 27-25 victory in Thursday night's Class 4A Hampshire girls volleyball sectional final.
The Trojans (33-5) captured their first sectional crown since the 2011 team finished second in the state. They will face Stevenson (31-8) in Saturday's 6 p.m. supersectional at Grayslake Central.
"We've been grooming this group for years to get us back there and they're doing the job," said Trojans' coach Patty Langanis. "Crystal Lake South was fighting like crazy in the second game, but I was really happy our girls stayed in it and kept battling."
"We were all just trying to keep calm on the court and play the way we could play," said Katchen, who contributed 7 kills and 3 blocks in the match. "We've worked so hard for this, and it's an amazing feeling when you get this far."
"We knew it was going to be tough, so we had to stick together and keep our chemistry," Splitt added.
While Cary-Grove featured a predominantly senior lineup, Crystal Lake South (23-16) received huge contributions from junior Jordan Proszenyak (9 kills) along with sophomores Emily Slimko (16 assists) and Kleja Cerniauskaite (6 kills).
"Cary had a lot of their hitters working and they had a lot of options to put the ball away. They played a great match," said Gators' coach Jorie Fontana.
"I was so proud of our girls because a lot my players don't have that experience yet. This is big court to step into a sectional final and they fought until the end."
Cary-Grove pulled away late in the opening set, scoring 8 of the final 9 points. Emily Schuster served for 4 points and Splitt closed the game out with an emphatic solo block and quick middle kill.
The Trojans pulled in front 13-9 in the second set, but Crystal Lake South went on an impressive 9-2 run for an 18-15 advantage
Splitt caught fire with 3 kills and a block to help the Trojans move back in front 24-23. The Trojans committed consecutive errors, but regrouped to score the final 3 points.
"Crystal Lake South is an extremely good team. It's hard to beat any team three times, let alone one that knows you so well and one you've been playing against for five years," Olson said.
Splitt landed 7 of her 9 kills in the second game while Olson finished with 20 assists and 2 kills. Senior Alessandra Vasquez added 4 kills.
The Trojans did an excellent job containing Crystal Lake South senior captain and leading hitter Kendall Kilberger, who landed just 2 kills.
"They did it the last time too, and I thought Kendall did a great job sticking in there. She kept her spirits up and made sure she stayed the vocal leader," Fontana said.