Girls volleyball: Fremd, Palatine pull out three-set wins, will meet Thursday for sectional title
After dropping the second set 25-13, Fremd's girls volleyball team was hardly fazed as it headed into the decisive third set of Tuesday's first semifinal of the Class 4A Barrington sectional.
"We have a coaching staff that believes in us and although we didn't play our best in the second set, we knew not to panic in the third," said Fremd senior Akshara Jay.
"Being aggressive and playing to win is something we've talked about all season and I think that was the major difference between set 2 and set 3," said Vikings coach Pete Gavin. "We really went after it and played to win."
The Vikings (28-7) got the win when sophomore Harper Neill slammed her fifth kill down the middle of the floor to give top-seeded Fremd a 25-23, 13-25, 25-16 victory and a spot in Thursday's 6 p.m. championship match against No. 3 Palatine (29-7), the Mid-Suburban League West champion.
"It feels great to be playing the sectional final," Jay added. "One of the good things about this team is that we really have a good support system and we can all rely on each other when we are down."
The Vikings were down 7-6 in the third set when the Patriots’ Nomin Baterdene served 3 straight points, capped by Abigail Inman's kill.
Fremd was down 12-10 when Ryler Bondad set Audri Linnane for a tip kill.
That's when the MSL East runner-up went to work.
A tip kill by Emily Karmazin made it 12-11 and then Neill served 3 straight points for a 14-12 lead.
A kill by Jay and a block by Zoey Bending (2 blocks) made it 17-13, forcing Stevenson coach Tim Crow to call his first timeout of the set.
But Fremd stayed on the attack and built the lead to 21-14. The Vikes closed it out by scoring 4 of the next 6 points, capped by Neill's match winner.
"The third set just kind of got away," said Crow. "The biggest thing is that the girls just played their hearts out. I thought we struggled with some things we've been doing very well. I'm just proud of the way they pulled through and got better and healthier toward the end of the season."
Inman (13 kills, 2 aces, 17 digs), Bondad (17 assists, 2 aces, 13 digs), Baterdene (12 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 14 digs) Lexi Randle EL (18 digs, 3 assists), Jane Tan (14 assists), Linnane (6 kills), Maya Patryarcha (2 kills, 1 block) and Cate Taborek (1 kill) helped lead the way for the Pats, who finished 24-13.
"To end the season is disappointing," Crow said. "We had a chance to win that first set, too. I'm proud of this group. We have a number of these kids returning next season so this is something that hopefully will fuel them in the offseason and get them ready for next season."
Fremd raced ahead 8-1 in Set 1 behind the serving of Madison Drenth (2 aces) and Neill (2 aces). Stevenson gradually worked its way back to within 11-8 but Fremd pulled away again, grabbing a 17-10 cushion on a kill by Neill. The Pats got to within 24-23 before Neill put down the set winner.
The Pats took a 7-3 lead in the second set thanks to 5 consecutive points from Randle El and never looked back in the 25-13 win.
"After that set, I told the girls to forget about it," Gavin said. "Part of it was that Stevenson played phenomenal, super clean volleyball and I told our girls we just had to move on, be mentally tough and do what we did all season: bounce back. And I was really proud of our effort in the third set.
"It's exciting to get to the sectional final. It was a little sweaty and stressful but I'm very excited for the kids. They've worked really hard to get here. It's a super fun group to coach and I don't want to be done coaching them yet."
Jay (5 assists, 2 aces) and Karmazin each had 11 kills while Neill had 5 kills along with 3 aces and 11 digs. Drenth also had 11 digs along with 18 assists.
Palatine d. Barrington: The second semifinal could not have been any more dramatic as No. 3 Palatine stopped No. 2 Barrington 18-25, 25-20, 27-25.
Barrington held off two match points (24-22) before the Pirates pulled it out on an ace from libero Sydney Branch.
"It was a great match, back and forth," said Pirates coach Dan Gavin. "Lots of outstanding defense on both sides of the net."
Now Dan Gavin will face his brother Pete (the Fremd head coach) in Thursday's 6 p.m. title match featuring two schools from Palatine.
"It should be fun," Dan Gavin said. "I know a lot of girls on both sides were looking forward to this match with the stakes that will be riding on it."
The winner heads to the DeKalb superscetional on Monday.
Zoe Johnson led the Pirates on attack, getting her cues from junior setter Alaina Olson.
"Alaina set an outstanding match," Dan Gavin said. "They (Barrington) have a great defense so to be able to do what she did wasn't an easy task."
Kayln Brookbank led the Fillies with 16 kills while teammate Eve Adler handed out 24 assists.
"It was an awesome match," said Barrington coach Michelle Mayer, whose Mid-Suburban League championship team finished at 25-13. "We missed some key opportunities at the end and that's why they play volleyball."