Schaumburg's Pancratz gets career coaching win No. 800

Perhaps against her wishes, this night was for Schaumburg's Jeanette Pancratz.

She joined a select group of less than 15 girls volleyball coaches in Illinois High School Association history to win 800 matches or more when her Saxons rallied for a 22-25, 25-11, 25-17 victory over visiting Conant on Thursday night.

"Jeanette will never allow the focus on her," said official scorer and Pancratz's former assistant coach Elizabeth Howard, a social studies teacher at Schaumburg High School where Pancratz is a physical education teacher. "It's about the players and the team."

When she started in 1980, the odds would have been astronomical that the team she would defeat for No. 800 would be coached by her daughter Drewann.

"That was hard," Jeanette said about going against her daughter and former all-area setter. "But we both respect the game and are competitors. We do everything we can to put our players in the best position to win and develop as persons. We'll do anything to help out each other's teams but when whistle blows, we compete."

As usual, Jeanette's team is competing for the Mid-Suburban West title.

The Saxons improved to 13-6 and 5-1 to remain 1 match behind Palatine (16-7, 6-0).

For her career, which began at Resurrection in 1980 (she spent seven years at the Chicago school and the last 27 at Schaumburg), Jeanette Pancratz's record now stands at 800-432.

But once the season began, you would never known from Jeanette that she was nearing a number that huge in the sport.

"She likes to be humble," said senior middle blocker Lexi Ross, who helped spark the Saxons' second-set rally with a pair kills during an opening 12-1 run. " I love it. There's nothing better than playing for her. She has so much enthusiasm. It's great. It is wonderful playing for a coach who loves the game so much and shows it every day at practice, even if we are not having a great one."

Season after season, Pancratz has adjusted to the sport's changes and made the Saxons a traditional power.

"It's unbelievable to win 800 matches," said Augie Fontanetta, the Director of Athletics for District 211 who was on hand for the match. "The game has changed so much over the years but it hasn't passed her up at all. She has done a great job working with the kids and adapting to to their needs. I'm proud of her. This is awesome.

"She really instills a lot of pride in her program. The kids play hard for her and are really proud to be part of the Schaumburg program."

Drewann was part of the program for four years before going on to a stellar career at Carthage, where she was one of the top setters in Division III.

"It's definitely crazy being on the other end when she won her 800th match " Drewann said. "She is someone I've looked up to and been such an inspiration to me.

"She runs a great program over there. She sets high standards and puts in the work. She is one of the hardest-working coaches I know. The intensity level is so high. Every point, every practice, you're giving 110 percent."

That's exactly what the Saxons had to do after dropping the first set on Thursday. The set was tied on every number from 13-20 before Schaumburg went ahead 22-20 on a block by senior setter Christina Candotti (18 assists, 2 aces).

But the Cougars (3-15, 1-5) battled back and went ahead 24-23 on a block from Ayla Kljako (6 kills behind team leader Rachel Delanois, who had 11) before an illegal hit gave Conant the win.

"After the first set, we just all said 'let's win it for Coach P'," Ross said. "I love playing for her for her and it's going to be a heck of a season."

The Saxons charged to an 11-1 lead in set 2, with the final 2 points coming on aces by senior Abbie Rahn. Conant never got closer 5 points.

The Saxons' momentum carried to Set 3 when they found their stride early again, dashing to a 11-2 lead and never looking back.

Rahn finished with a match-high 12 kills and 13 digs.

"It was awesome," said the senior outside hitter who was complemented by Morgan Sterrett (9 kills), Mallory Gerber (5) and Ross (5). "She's (Jeanette Pancratz) a great coach. I've learned a lot from her. She has helped develop some of the greatest girls who have played the sport here. I'm so honored to play for her. She is so supportive to everyone not only on the court, but also off it. She deserves 80 wins. She deserves everything."

Jeanette feels her family, assistant coaches, parents, administrator and friends deserve the credit.

"I've been so blessed to be supported by all those people," she said. "I credit my husband Andy (a former DePaul and Hersey basketball star). I remember when our son Mark was born on a Friday, and I was able to be back coaching at Resurrection the following Monday. All my assistant coaches are so deserving and certainly the players. They believed in what we do and work hard at it.

"To be honest, it's more than the wins and losses. Eight hundred is a big number but I can't even begin to describe what that entails. It's the result my family, and the sacrifices and commitments of so many others."