New standard for Loyola as Schaumburg falls short
Girls volleyball began 20 years ago at Loyola Academy, which had been an all-boys school in Wilmette.
Going into Thursday's match with No. 2 Schaumburg, the top-seeded Ramblers had never won a sectional crown in the sport.
They changed history with a 25-17, 25-13 victory in the Class 4A Maine East sectional championship in Park Ridge.
The Ramblers (26-9) advanced to Saturday's Evanston supersectional against De La Salle at 1 p.m.
"(Loyola) has a lot of weapons and came at us from all angles," said Saxons coach Jeanette Pancratz, a winner of 787 career matches and no stranger to sectional championships with three of her own. "But we were prepared for that and overall our girls responded well.
"I'm really proud of how far they have come. We had tremendous support from the underlevels and the effect this varsity team had on them will certainly carry over to future teams."
This year's team won 25 matches, a Mid-Suburban League West championship and a regional championship over the last three weeks.
The Saxons lost to Loyola team that was top-seeded in the sectional and enjoying one of its winningest seasons in school history with 26 wins under third-year coach Mark Chang.
"Schaumburg (25-14) had an excellent season," said Chang, who starts only one senior (right side hitter Julia Murphy). And we wish them the very best for next season."
For Saxons senior Oyinkan Akinola, next season will be at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
After Schaumburg fell behind 3-0, Schaumburg tied the first set at 5-5 on a kill by Akinola.
"That No. 14 (Akinola who had 8 kills) is an incredible player," Chang said. "She is a stellar player, a real threat. We really focused our defense around her because she is an excellent player. We tip our cap to her. And I thought they had a pretty outstanding libero (senior Hannah Moore)."
Moore collected some terrific digs off the Loyola attackers and helped ignite some long rallies between the two teams.
Junior Christina Reed, who put down 10 kills, got one to the floor to break the 5-5 tie.
Loyola junior setter Katie Randolph put down a terrific second-attack to make it 7-5 before the longest rally of the night, filled with outstanding plays, ended on a kill by Akinola to make it 7-6.
But the Ramblers took off on a 7-1 tear to take command.
Schaumburg got to within 15-11 on a hitting error and kill by Akinola before Loyola ran off 5 answered points for a 20-11 lead.
Starting the 5-0 run were back-to-back aces by Reed.
"Our serving was tough," Chang said. "I think the girls understood it had to be and they believed in that strategy."
Just like Set 1, the Ramblers were able to get ahead early in Set 2, taking a 3-1 lead on Reed's kill.
Grabbing the lead in every set is always high on Loyola's list.
"I've got it written on my clipboard," Chang said. "Get to 5 points first. Act with urgency. And these girls signed off on that."
Schaumburg came back to grab a 4-3 lead before Loyola went ahead for good at 5-4 on a net violation.
A kill by Kate Pillon made it 7-4
The Saxons kept things close, trailing 10-8 after a tip by Akinola.
But the Ramblers pulled away again, taking a 15-9 lead on Randolph's quick set to Natasha Borkowski, who put down one of her 4 kills.
"I thought our defense was insane," said Randolph, who handed out 24 assists. "Our girls were throwing themselves all over to make sure the balls didn't hit the floor. We've been working on that all season, and it really helped this match."
Senior Jada Blackwell (2 kills) was helping run the Saxons' offense. It was her perfect second-attack kill that slowed down the Ramblers' momentum in Set 2, getting Schaumburg to within 15-10.
But Loyola closed with a 10-3 run to put the match away.
"I can't put into words how incredible this is," said Loyola libero Lauren Stadler. "We've been looking forward to this forever. It's amazing because I can share it with 15 other girls."
The Saxons were able to share their first appearance in a sectional since 2007.
Lexi Ross and Morgan Sterrett each added 2 kills for Schaumburg while Mallory Gerber had 1. Teammate Katherine Coombs contributed a block.
"We have no reason to hang our heads," Pancratz said. "We played hard and battled. I'm so proud of our team."