advertisement

Barrington wins West — right on schedule

Barrington's impending senior night actually provided motivation on Tuesday night.

The Fillies were at Fremd, trying to clinch a Mid-Suburban West girls volleyball crown for the second time in three years.

“We wanted to get that (division title) out of the way so we didn't have to worry about it on Thursday (on senior night) so we could have more fun,” said one of the Fillies' seniors, Claire Waliczek.

Despite losing a two-game match at home to Fremd three weeks ago, the Fillies (14-14, 8-1) took care of business on the road against the Vikings on Tuesday.

They defeated the hosts 25-11, 25-23 for the West title.

The tight second-game finish was nothing new for Barrington, which dropped three third-game matches on Saturday at the St. Charles North tournament. Each was decided by 2 points.

The Fillies went 1-4 at the tourney and are 6-13 outside of MSL play while playing one of the toughest schedules in the area.

“The reason we play that schedule showed tonight,” said Barrington coach Rob Ridenour. “We had a lot of close ones Saturday in the third game so it was good to see us get over that mental hurdle tonight, pushing through in a tough third game.”

After cruising in Game 1, the Fillies built an 18-12 lead in Game 2 before Fremd (16-11, 5-4) battled back to within 1 point 5 times.

But Barrington won it with back-to-back kills by Katie Clement and Emily Watkins, who each recorded 5 kills in the match.

Senior Christy Roney led the Fillies' attack with 9 kills while Clement enjoyed one of her best offensive nights with a .500 hitting efficiency.

“We got some great offense from Katie and Sarah Berggren (3 kills) in the middle,” Ridenour said. “Christy has been our big gun all season and she had another nice night.”

Roney's crosscourt kill sparked a 3-0 run to start Game 2.

“It got a little scary in Game 2 when they came back,” said Waliczek, who had 19 assists and 3 aces. “It was fun to hold on and win because we have fell under the pressure so many time in the past in these close games.”

“It's exciting. One of our goals was to win the MSL title so now we are one step closer.”

“We realized how bad we wanted to win the West in Game 2 and we pushed through to the end,” Roney added.

Back-to-back kills by Ari Messner got Fremd to within 23-22 and 24-23 before the Fillies put it away.

Coach Curt Pinley's Fremd attack was led by junior Lane Hindenburg's 5 kills, while classmate Audrey Stegich sparked the back row with 9 digs.

“You know what?” Pinley said. “Barrington is just an outstanding program. To split with them on the season is a success for us. We played well in Game 2 but they've improved, too, as a team — and enough to beat us 25-23.”

Carly Roberts handed out 5 assists and Jackie Mursuli 2 while Jenna Schneider was 8-of-8 serve receiving.

“We made some small adjustments in Game 2,” Pinley added. “Even though they got that lead on us, we didn't let it get out of hand. We were in battle mode.”

Emily Casaletto, who served 3 aces, sparked the MSL West champs' back row with 15 digs followed by Watkins (9) and Olivia Hagan (9).

“We played great defense in Game 1, digging every ball,” Ridenour added. “We served aggressively, getting them out of their system. It was exactly how we want to play volleyball.”

And now they will play for an MSL crown. Barrington will host Hersey a week from Thursday.

“I think all our close third games Saturday definitely helped us when it came to the second game,” Waliczek said. “Ninety percent of the time when we've gotten to a third game, we've lost so it's been frustrating. This definitely makes up for it.”

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.