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Girls volleyball: St. Charles East, Neuqua to meet for crown

Besieged with injuries throughout the regular season, St. Charles East's girls volleyball team may be getting healthy at the opportune time.

Receiving contributions from numerous players, the fifth-seeded Saints (24-12) outlasted Naperville Central, 27-25, 25-27, 25-19, during Tuesday night's Class 4A regional semifinals in St. Charles.

"We had all those injuries and got out of sync," said Saints coach Jennie Kull, whose team will face fourth-seeded Neuqua Valley (28-8) in Thursday's regional championship. "Now we're kind of getting in that rhythm again.

"We had a lot of players who came in tonight and played at key times," added Kull. "We needed everybody."

After the Redhawks fought off a late Saints rally to take the second set on Samantha Kurm's kill, they quickly grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the decisive third set.

That brief momentum burst quickly fizzled as the Saints took the lead for good with a 7-0 run that featured kills from 6-foot-3 sophomore Klaudia Sowizral (5 kills, 3 blocks) and junior Kyla Augustine (8 kills).

St. Charles East built leads of 19-12 and 20-13 before the Redhawks staged a late comeback. Sarah Schank (12 kills), Samantha Herron (10 kills), Claudia Wodziak and Molly Stock each had kills as the Redhawks battled to within 21-18.

However, the Saints scored 4 of the last 5 points, capped by a middle kill by senior Riley Schumacher (6 kills).

"During the second game, I got a little nervous but there was no doubt in my mind that I could trust my teammates and that we would get this game," said Schumacher.

"We went into a little bit of a rut there in that third set," said Redhawks coach Jeff Danbom. "I think we got within two or three but we were always playing catch-up. I never felt like we were out of it but to their credit, they hit well, they passed well and they made us move."

The Saints received additional support from Alexis Jett (19 digs), Kyra Slavik (7 digs, 11 assists), Amanda Davidson (6 digs), Ilona Willsey (6 aces, 4 blocks), Emily Schildmeyer (6 kills), Avery Macklin (5 kills), and Morgan Kull (5 digs, 15 assists).

"I'm glad to live another day and be able to play for this," said Kull, whose team dropped a 3-set match to Neuqua Valley earlier this month. "Now we're underdogs."

Earlier in the evening, fourth-seeded Neuqua Valley scored the last 9 points to rally from a 19-16 deficit to beat Yorkville 25-19 in the opening set.

That momentum carried over into the second set as the Wildcats rolled to a 25-8 victory.

"Those first 10 points were very uncharacteristic," said Neuqua Valley coach Kelly Simon. "We had two service errors and two attacking errors within their first seven points.

"That light needed to flip on and once it did they were ready to go. The girls got into their groove and then it was a whole new ballgame."

The Wildcats fell behind 17-11 in the first set before senior outside hitter Claire Grove recorded 4 of her team-high 10 kills to spark a comeback.

"I know (Coach) Simon called our first timeout pretty early so that kind of refocused us," said Grove. "Our serving got a lot more aggressive. That set us in motion."

Junior Nora Meehan (15 digs) and Kora Kauling (7 kills, 14 assists) each delivered 3 aces while Lauren Coffman added a pair.

"Lauren filled in and did an amazing job from the service line," said Simon.

Hannah Ramsdell (6 assists), Sarah Daneliak (4 kills), and Maria Mayhew (4 kills) also chipped in for the Wildcats.

  Naperville Central's Claudia Wodziak (facing) and St. Charles East's Ilona Willsey (left) and Avery Macklin (right) battle to put the ball on either side in the first set in the Class 4A regional Tuesday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Avery Macklin (15) screams with teammates as they win over Naperville Central's in the Class 4A regional Tuesday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Morgan Kull sets a play up for the Saints in the second set vs. Naperville Central in the Class 4A regional Tuesday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Kyla Augustine (6) and Riley Schumacher (11) celebrate a point over Naperville Central in the Class 4A regional Tuesday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  St. Charles East's Ilona Willsey (10) and teammates celebrate a point in the first set vs. Naperville Central in the Class 4A regional Tuesday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Naperville Central's Olivia Richter tips the ball over the net toward St. Charles East's Riley Schumacher in the first set in the Class 4A regional Tuesday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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