Addison Trail maintains momentum

Fresh off its first West Suburban Gold title in nearly a decade, the Addison Trail girls volleyball team entered the playoffs with a lot of momentum.

And on Tuesday, playing host to a Class 4A regional, the Blazers kept the train rolling on their home court.

Behind a balanced offensive attack and the serving of freshman Nina Muell, Addison Trail defeated Leyden 25-10, 25-22 to advance to Thursday's regional championship against York.

"Give our kids credit, they showed a lot of tenacity pursuing balls and digging all over the place," said Addison Trail coach Dan Styler, whose team tied with Downers Grove South atop the league standings. "And give Leyden credit, they stuck in there and played us tough in Game 2."

The Blazers, who improved to 22-13 on the fall, never trailed in the opening game, with Muell rattling off 10 straight service points to finish it out.

"She got on a huge run," Styler said of Muell, called up to the varsity during the third week of the season. "She has a ton of confidence and she's been doing a great job for us."

The Eagles showed a lot of fight in Game 2, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Addison Trail crept back, taking its first lead at 7-6. The score was again tight at 23-22 before the Blazers' Jessica Mell ended it with a block and a kill.

Sarah Petrbok, one of eight juniors on a roster that includes only three seniors, topped the home team with 7 kills.

"We went in confident, knowing that if we worked hard, we could be successful," Petrbok said. "We tried our best to control our side of the net and to keep up the tempo on our side.

"Most of us started with the varsity our sophomore year. Last year we had two seniors graduate and this year we have three seniors. We are a young team, but we know what our goals are and we want to execute them."

Winning a regional title on their home court would certainly be the cherry on top of an already successful campaign. But to do that, the Blazers would have to upset the top-seeded Dukes.

"You can't write a better scenario for us, to play for a regional championship on our home court," Styler said. "We are certainly the underdog but we've got nothing to lose."

Leyden played without three-year setter Autumn McGee, who tore her ACL in a match last week. The Eagles finished with a program-record 23 victories and were led by a senior class that was headlined by four-year varsity contributor Emily Steininger.

"She's a stud," Leyden coach Danielle Kowalkowski said. "She's been going to the volleyball camp at Leyden since she was 10 or 11, so I've known her a long time. It's a special group with great senior leadership and great chemistry on and off the court. We had a very successful season."