Girls volleyball: IC Catholic Prep works quickly to gain sectional final berth

Nice, clean and neat.

That best describes IC Catholic Prep's clinical 25-8, 25-10 victory over Holy Trinity in a Class 2A sectional semifinal Monday at Guerin Prep.

It only took the Knights about a half-hour to dispose of the Tigers, who were simply outmatched by their opponent's size and athleticism.

Would IC Catholic Prep coach Nancy D'Amore have preferred a bit longer time on the court to tune up for Wednesday's 6 p.m. sectional final against Harvest Christian?

In a word, no. Emphatically.

"Not at this point," D'Amore said. "We've all seen this game and it can go south fast. I mean, even when you don't think there's any chance it will. I've seen it. When you get to this level, you really just have to keep going and do your thing. We always talk when the ball is on our side of the floor, we have to play our game."

That's what the Knights did Monday, and they barely broke a sweat for their efforts.

Strong, consistent and consecutive serving by sophomore Olivia Hurt and junior libero Bella Leslie staked the Knights (22-13) to a quick 21-6 advantage in the first set, with freshman Claire Wagner putting the finishing touch with a big a kill to end it.

The second started a little closer than perhaps D'Amore would have liked, but this time it was senior Maya Stovall who did most of the damage, turning a slim 6-4 lead into a 14-4 advantage.

Moments later, it was over, as sophomore Olivia Hurt and junior Victoria Bernero served their way to the match victory. The finishing touch this time was put by sophomore Jess Sobon, who had consecutive kills to conclude the set and match.

But make no mistake. The Knights realize it won't be as easy Wednesday against Harvest Christian, which stopped DePaul Prep 25-18, 25-17 in the late semifinal.

"I think tonight our fundamental skills, you put them together and that's what won us this match," Leslie said. "But I think on Wednesday, we're going to have to play a lot more competitive, and we're going to have to use everything we learned this season and throw it out onto the court, because that's where it's all going to matter."

Leslie led the Knights with 11 digs and co-led with Stovall with 3 aces. Sobon contributed 9 kills and 2 blocks.

Tuesday's practice will probably be a little more intense, Stovall said, considering a trip to state is on the line.

"We're probably going to have a lot more weight on it," she said. "We're going to have to play our brand of volleyball, and just practice the best we can practice, because we go hard at practice to play hard the next day."