'Irritated' Lamberti brings Cary-Grove back

With Crystal Lake South leading Cary-Grove 19-15 in Game 2, Trojans standout Kelly Lamberti took matters into her own hands.

And, basically, the Gators' hopes of an upset of the Trojans was over.

With the Trojans (17-0, 4-0) down by 4, Lamberti delivered 2 powerful aces and had 3 kills as Cary-Grove scored 5 straight points to take a 20-19 lead.

Cary-Grove, which won the first game 25-15, eventually won the second game 27-25 to take the match over the Gators in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in Crystal Lake Thursday night.

"When Kelly went to the service line I said to my assistants she looks angry," said Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis. "She wants the serve with the game on the line. She just pounded those serves and she wasn't going to let us lose."

Lamberti, who will play collegiately at Ohio University, ended with 13 kills, 5 blocks and 3 aces.

"South was outplaying us and I was getting irritated," said Lamberti. "I knew I just had to stay calm and get back to basics. South did a great job of hitting around the block and they played an awesome match."

The Gators seemed in good position to win Game 2 and force a decisive third game. A kill by Maureen Johnson gave the Gators a 24-23 lead but South couldn't get the game-winner.

With the scored tied at 25, the Trojans scored the final 2 points of the match on kills by Lamberti and Ashley Rosch.

"We played a little iffy the first game and thought maybe we could play with Cary-Grove," said Crystal Lake South coach Jorie Fontana. "The second game we realized that yes, we do belong with them. In the second game, we came out of the mental funk we have been in. We didn't beat ourselves. We forced Cary-Grove to beat us."

Rosch added 5 kills, 3 blocks and 2 aces while Indiana-bound setter Colleen Smith had 26 assists with 3 aces for the Trojans, who have won 33 in a row overall.

Nikki Papadas paced the Gators (8-5, 1-3) with 6 kills and 3 aces while Hannah Burkle provided 5 kills and 2 blocks. Setter Emily Oraham collected 18 assists.

In Game 1, the Trojans broke a 9-9 tie with 8 straight points. Two kills each By Melanie Jereb and Rosch keyed the 8-0 run and gave Cary-Grove a 17-9 lead.

A kill by Lamberti gave Cary-Grove a 1-0 lead in the match.