Schaumburg responds to early setback

The Schaumburg girls volleyball team didn't let a 25-16 loss in Game 1 take its toll mentally.

Instead, the Saxons used it to their advantage.

"We all just had great enthusiasm going into Game 2," said 5-foot-10 senior middle blocker Sara Travis. "And the fans helped us with that enthusiasm."

The fired-up Saxons did indeed rise to the occasion in the final two games, producing an exciting 16-25, 25-23, 25-14 come-from-behind triumph over visiting Barrington to improve to 2-0 in the Mid-Suburban West and 5-3 overall.

"Hopefully we can keep it that way," said Saxons setter (15 assists) and power-hitting Emily Young (match-high 10 kills) about her team's perfect record in the West.

"We talked a little after Game 1 and decided to take the momentum back to our side. It always takes the backcourt to get you going, and we started keeping the ball alive and just said we can do it."

The Saxons did it with some key aces, clutch kills and scrappy defense.

Junior Alyssa Saklak collected 16 digs, followed by Rebecca Thompson (13), Travis (8), Young (8), Natasha Senecal (7) and Meghan Falsey (6), who handed out 10 assists.

"Our serve kept us in the match," said Saxons coach Jeanette Pancratz, who received 2 aces apiece from Travis (11-of-12), Bria Hailey (11-of-11) and the hard-serving Saklak (7-of-9). "As we gained confidence in covering and defensive positioning, we picked it up and our errors started to go down."

Trailing 20-16 in Game 2, the Saxons got up 22-20 after Hailey (7 kills) served for 6 straight points, including 2 aces.

A nifty backward no-look kill by sophomore Lauren Shechtman (7 kills) and a kill to the right side by junior Olivia Szuszkiewicz tied the game at 22-22.

Two blasts from Young on sets from Falsey gave the Saxons the 25-23 hard-fought win.

Game 3 went a little easier for the hosts, who raced out to a 7-1 lead behind 5 straight service points from Thompson. An ace by Hailey made it 9-3.

The Fillies (2-3, 1-1) fought back to within 9-7 on a kill from sophomore Peyton Lang (5 kills), but the Saxons never let the visitors closer, reeling off 13 of the next 15 points.

"The bottom line is that Schaumburg was better than us," said Fillies coach Chris Bronke. "That sums it up. My disappointment is that my girls allowed Schaumburg's players to change from how they were playing in the first game. Schaumburg was just better than us."

Amanda Dee (16 digs) and Joy Johnson (13) led the Fillies on defense while Florida Atlantic-bound Madison Lang put down 7 kills with 8 kills and 2 aces. Freshman Emily Casaletto collected 10 assists and 8 digs for Barrington.

Fremd d. Conant: Defending MSL West champ Fremd (8-1, 2-0) remained tied for first with a 25-19, 25-13 triumph over Conant as senior Alex Messner put down 14 kills for the host Vikes.

Teammates Kayla Price handed out 19 assists and Jaimie Groot had 6 digs.

Conant (3-6, 0-2) was led by freshman Jennifer O'Donnell (5 kills) and junior Samantha Armando (3).

Palatine d. Hoffman Estates: Seniors Lauren Kluk collected 24 assists and Kaley Sierawski put down 10 kills to lead host Palatine (6-3, 1-1) to a 25-17, 19-25, 26-24 victory.

Amanda Hilmer added 8 kills and Heather Suiter 3 for the Pirates. Hoffman is 4-5 and 0-2.

Prospect d. Rolling Meadows: Seniors Sarah Hunt (7 kills) and Ashley Wabik (5 kills) led visiting Prospect to a 25-20, 25-18 victory while Danielle Siwik (10 assists) and Shea Gallus (4 assists) handled the setting duties. Siwik also had 9 digs while Anne Geweniger had 6.

Rolling Meadows (2-7, 1-1) was led on attack by seniors Veronica Drabrowski (6 kills) and Emily Haeger (2) while junior Olivia Falk had 6 assists and freshman Jenny Vliet 5.

Wheeling d. Buffalo Grove: Kellie Kuzmanic (7 kills) and Kayla Jordan (6) were top attackers for Wheeling (7-2, 2-0) in a 25-17, 25-13 triumph. Stephanie Fuchs handed out 17 assists with 3 aces while Annette Gorzelany had 9 digs.

Visiting BG (1-8, 0-2) received 5 kills from Sierra Bugno and 4 from Paige Smith while Victoria Ito collected 8 digs and Kathy Hampton 13 assists.

Hersey d. Elk Grove: Defending MSL champ Hersey (6-3, 2-0) was led on attack by senior Christine Solans (10 kills) and junior Kelsey Haas (9 kills) in a 15-25, 25-23, 25-12 triumph.

Sophomore Abby Fesl served 4 aces and collected 23 assists for the visiting Huskies while Danielle Perkins (14 digs) and Jenni Mueller (13) paced the defense. Kristen Pedersen led the winners with 4 blocks.

Leah Miller (12 digs) and Jessica Balzano (10) paced the defense for the Grenadiers (2-6, 1-3), whose offense was set by Jessica Condon (19 assists).

Maine South d. Maine West: Maine South posted a 25-21, 25-18 victory over Maine West (1-6) in the CSL North crossover. The Warriors were led on attack by Katie Fitzgerald (5 kills, 3 service points) and Colleen Finnander (3 kills, 1 service point).