Hersey zaps Zion-Benton

Hersey did a lot of homework in the classroom on Friday for its championship match of the Fremd Class 4A regional title.

Then the No. 2-seeded Huskies passed its test over No. 7 Zion-Benton with a 25-18, 25-18 triumph for their 20th girls volleyball regional crown under coach Nancy Lill and 21st in school history.

“We watched game film of Zion-Benton Friday in the classroom of an assistant coach,” said Huskies senior Christine Solans, who put down a match-high 9 kills with 13 digs. “And that really helped us figure out where we had to put the ball. And who to serve to, and who not to serve to.”

And who was the person Zion-Benton coach Jake Carlson felt had a big effect on the match?

“That No. 12 (Solans) was outstanding,” he said. “But they're a solid team all-around. This really came down to a battle of the defenses.

“Both teams played real well defensively, but they were 7 points better than us (both games). I wish them the best of luck the rest of the way.”

Next up for the Huskies (31-6) will be No. 3 Lake Zurich (25-7) in the 7 p.m. semifinal of the Warren sectional on Tuesday night.

The 6 p.m. semifinal will match North Suburban Conference Lake Division rivals No. 1 Libertyville and No. 4 Stevenson.

Hersey's talented sophomore setter Abby Fesl used her options well Saturday, collecting 27 assists.

Showing no ill effects from an ankle injury suffered eight days ago, Huskies junior Kelsey Haas netted 8 kills, followed by Kristen Pedersen (6) and Alexa Stedman (4).

Pedersen made a big impact immediately when the Huskies opened the match with a 6-1 lead. The 6-foot-1 junior middle hitter accounted for 4 of those points with 2 kills (one a tip) and 2 blocks.

“That was crazy,” Pedersen said of her early tear. “We got a lot of momentum going there.

“I thought our mental game was above and beyond. We looked at a lot of film on Friday and that helped us find the open holes on the floor.”

“Kristen is playing to a high level,” said Hersey coach Nancy Lill. “We had them scouted and the girls followed a game plan.

“I think we had them rattled because we were going at their weaknesses. They are an outstanding team but we knew what we had to do to get them out of their offensive system.”

Zion-Benton made things interesting in Game 1 coming back to tie it at 10,11,12 and 13 before Hersey took the lead for good at 14-13 on a kill by Stedman.

Two service points by Taylor Schill (Stedman blocked an overpass and a Zion hitting error) put the Huskies in front 18-14.

The ZeeBees struck back to within 18-16 but back-to-back kills by the 5-foot-8 Solans started a 7-2 run to end the game.

“Christine had a really great match,” Lill said. “We were able to play to her strengths because they had a small setter and Christine did great.

“The whole team played great. Kelsey was awesome, also playing up to a very high level.”

The Huskies jumped ahead 3-0 in Game 2 getting a kill by Solans and block by Pedersen for 2 of the points.

The match was tied at 5 but Hersey went on a 5-0 run and Zion never got closer than 3.

The Huskies ended the match when Solans made a perfect pass to Fesl, who set it right by to Solans for the kill.

Hersey served perfect (40-of-40), led by Fesl (10-of-10 with an ace).

Danielle Perkins, Schill and Solans were all 9-of-9 while Jenni Mueller was 8-of-8 with an ace.

“We served aggressively but we had good location, too,” Lill said. “The girls were consistent hitting their spots.”

Solans and Mueller (12 digs) led the back row for the id-Suburban League champs.