St. Charles East tops rival St. Charles North

Needing an emotional spark after sophomore setter Erienne Barry went down with an apparent knee injury midway through the opening game, St. Charles East's volleyball team got just that and more from junior Stephanie Camper Tuesday night.

Camper ignited a late rally in Game 1 with a pair of aces, and continued her strong serving in the second game while effectively running the team's offense during the Saints' 28-26, 25-14 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over cross-town rival St. Charles North (12-10, 3-2) at St. Charles East.

“I was not expecting it at all, Camper said of her increased playing time. “Erienne's a great setter and it was hard to see her go down but I just tried to pick up as much as I could.

Diplomacy aside, Saints coach Jennie Kull had a little different opinion of Camper's all-around effort.

“She was a hero today, Kull said of Camper, who finished with 4 aces and 18 assists. “She came in and she played with confidence. She ran the team and she never hesitated. She knew what she needed to do.

With the Saints (16-5, 5-1) trailing 23-19 in the first game, Camper followed kills from teammates Meghan Niski and Nichole Lambert with back-to-back aces before another Lambert middle kill put the home team in front, 24-23.

“It was the best that she's served all season, said Kull. “She came in and built the confidence back up.

Kills from seniors Sam Szarmach (7 kills, 6 digs, 2 blocks) and Olivia Desormey (6 kills) sealed the Saints' opening-game comeback.

“It was one run where we were up three or four points and we let them get a couple points there to tie it up, said North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins. “Then we let them hang with us the rest of the game.

“That was the kicker for us. We played well the entire game and we just couldn't close it out because of that one run.

Hawkins admitted that the way her team lost the first game might have had a carryover impact in Game 2 as the Saints snapped a 10-10 tie by scoring 15 of the final 19 points.

“They definitely got a huge momentum shift from winning that first game, said Hawkins, whose team was led by Katie Fuerst (7 kills, 2 aces) and Kim Juriga (4 kills, 3 blocks). “It's a lot harder to be the team that loses that close game.

“That's not to take away from what they did, Hawkins said of the Saints. “They really took it to us that second game and we couldn't respond.

The Saints also received solid efforts from Kathleen Dailey (5 kills, 2 blocks), Barry (7 assists) and libero Maisey Mulvey (12 digs) during their annual “Volley For The Cure breast cancer fundraising match with St. Charles North.

“It was nice to honor my mom (Robin, a 5-year breast cancer survivor) and Erienne's mom (Donna) I loved that, said Szarmach. “But it was real hard to focus and stay mentally tough.

“I'm really proud of the girls, she added. “Stephanie (Camper) did an awesome job. It's a lot of pressure coming into a big game like that.