Naperville N. shakes off Waubonsie
Jennifer Urban has never lost a regional match in six years at Naperville North.
She doesn't take it for granted.
"Winning a regional gets tougher and tougher every year," Urban said.
Especially when you're facing a 26-match winner like Waubonsie Valley. Even more so, when you dig a 6-1 hole in the first set. Naperville North shook off the slow start for a 25-22, 25-14 win at the Class 4A Joliet regional for the Huskies' 12th straight championship.
No. 3 seed Naperville North (30-7) advances to play No. 2 Hinsdale Central in a sectional semifinal Tuesday at Lockport. Hinsdale Central won at Naperville North in three sets in the Huskies' season-opening match.
"Waubonsie came out really strong in that first set. It really forced us from point one to take care of the ball," Urban said. "We were able to pick it up a little after that first timeout (down 6-1) and never looked back. They dug us well, put up a good block and forced us to win some long rallies."
Waubonsie Valley (26-11) bolted out to leads of 6-1 and 12-6 in the first set behind 3 early kills by Martha Stewart, 2 by Nicole Salmon and scrappy defense keyed by libero Jill Galovic. Naperville North came back to tie it at 14-14 on an Audrey Wilson kill and took its first lead 15-14 on a Waubonsie Valley hitting error. Three more ties ensued before Naperville North took the lead for good at 19-18 on a Warriors missed serve. A second Waubonsie Valley service error pushed the Huskies lead to 22-20.
Wilson and Sidney Sauter kills sandwiched around a Salmon kill for Waubonsie Valley put Naperville North at set point, which the Huskies won on a Warriors double-contact violation.
"That whole first game was hard-fought - we just made a couple key mistakes at the end that cost us," Waubonsie Valley coach Kristen Stuart said. "Those missed serves were big momentum shifts."
Naperville North never trailed after the first point in the second set, taking the lead for good at 6-5 on a Wilson kill. Wilson put down 7 of her match-high 12 kills in the second set. Sauter and Kaia Schwartz each had 4 kills and Carly Warner 12 digs and Alissa Valentine 11 digs for the Huskies.
"We got smarter with our shots as the match progressed," Wilson said, "and our defense was incredible. Waubonsie really put up a good fight."
Waubonsie Valley didn't help its cause with 11 errors in the set.
"A lot of stupid errors - we'd just let the ball drop," Salmon said. "It's disappointing that we didn't play the second set like we did the first."
Stewart finished with 9 kills, Salmon 7 and Ally Simmons 5 kills and 3 blocks. Galovic added 12 digs.