Schaumburg turns it up, tops Barrington

Because of technical difficulties with the sound, the Schaumburg and Barrington's girls volleyball teams warmed up for Thursday's Mid-Suburban League West match without any music.

"It was a little dull," said Saxons senior libero Lauren LaVigne. "That made it that more important for us to make our own energy. We had to make our own noise."

By the time the match was over, the Saxons showed they plan to be making some noise in the MSL West race this fall, defeating previously conference unbeaten Barrington 25-17, 20-25.

LaVigne was in tune in the backcourt (match-high 13 digs) and serving line (8-of-8) as Schaumburg raised its record to 11-6 and 3-1 while Barrington slipped to 6-11 and 3-1.

The two teams trail Palatine (3-0) by ½ match in the West.

"Our division is a horse race to the finish, and that has been proven for several years," said Saxons coach Jeanette Pancratz, who is 2 wins shy of reaching 800 for her career. Her Saxons are at Hoffman next Tuesday and host Conant on Thursday.

"This was a very important match for us," LaVigne said. "We came into it with a lot enthusiasm because we knew it meant a lot for both teams. We wanted to show that we are a strong team in the conference."

The Saxons showed it on Parent Night, which also included some parents of past Saxons standouts such as Emily Young and Bree Hailey.

"You've got to win for your parents," LaVigne said smiling. "We wanted to make them proud."

Barrington coach Michelle Jakubowski was proud of her team despite its first loss in the West.

"We're getting there,' she said. "We played a little nervous in Set 1, like we were a little afraid. But they had to work through it and I'm really proud of how they did that."

The Saxons won Set 1 by racing to an 11-4 lead, capped by a back-to-back aces by Mallory Gerber (8 kills, 7 digs).

Barrington got to within 16-13 on a service point by Ana Zawisza before Schaumburg was able to pull away again. The Saxons ended the set with 3 straight points from LaVigne, which included Abbie Rahn (match-high 9 kills) drilling a kill to the floor and a kill by Morgan Sterrett (3 kills).

Barrington answered in Set 2, which was tied at 19-19 when the Fillies went ahead for good on Gabrielle Morris' kill off a Saxons' knee to make it 20-19.

Zawisza set freshman Tilly Peyton for another kill and 21-19 lead before the Saxons received a block from Julie Spitello (4 kills, 2 blocks).

But a tip by Megan Talbot made it 22-20 and Edy Merkle served our the set, thanks to three hitting errors by Schaumburg.

The Saxons made their statement early in Set 3.

Rahn served three straight aces for a 4-0 lead. Three points from Lexi Ross (4 kills, 3 blocks), including an ace, made at 8-1 and the visitors never got closer than 5 points.

"We always make it a goal to get the first point of a set," LaVigne said. "When we do that, it helps our energy. That early run in the third set really helped us with our energy. I thought we played really well and executed what we needed."

Executing the Saxons' offense were setters Jessica Hartzman (12 assists) and Jordyn Harberts (13 assists).

Talbot and Morris led Barrington with 7 kills apiece while Merkle had 6 digs and 5 points. Cecilia Stack chipped in 4 kills for the Fillies.

"Barrington is a strong, aggressive team," Pancratz said. "It was a great, hard-fought match. Our girls did a solid job of executing our game plan. That's all you can ask of them. We want to continue to improve as the season progresses."

"We got in a hole the first set but really fought back and I am proud of them," Jakubowski said. "In the third set, we had a hitting error to start and we never recovered. As long as we learn from this, we still have shot (at conference)."