Girls volleyball: Schaumburg just misses upset in Pancratz' final match

How fitting that underdog Schaumburg put a major scare into No. 4 New Trier at the Class 4A Maine West regional on Tuesday night.

The No. 13-seeded Saxons girls volleyball team lost in three sets and were down only 22-21 in the third before the Trevians escaped 25-15, 18-25, 25-18 in Des Plaines.

That relentless spirit by Schaumburg epitomized coach Jeanette Pancratz' teams since 1980.

They were always competitive regardless of talent or the opponent and almost always compiled winning seasons full of accolades.

The retiring physical education teacher coached her final varsity match and ended her stellar career as one of the winningest coaches in the state with 823 wins and 460 losses.

She coached at Resurrection from 1980 to 1987 and began in 1989 at Schaumburg, where she won five MSL West crowns (three South and two West) and four overall MSL championships.

As usual, her husband Andy was in the stands on Tuesday.

"She just loves doing it," said the former Hersey and DePaul basketball star who rarely missed a match in Jeanette's career. "It's not work for her."

Andy worked as the Resurrection girls basketball coach for many of the years when Jeanette was the school's volleyball coach.

"He was always supporting her, "said Saxons junior outside Morgan Sterrett. "And it was great to see the love they had for each other and how they supported one another."

Andy believes his wife won't leave the game.

"I don't think she'll be able to stay away from it," he said. "Maybe she'll take a year off and come back at one level or another."

Jeanette raised the bar to its highest level when it came to coaching.

"Everything she did was for us," said Saxons senior outside hitter Mallory Gerber, an elite volleyball and basketball player. "We wanted to go out with a bang for her because she has meant the world to us."

That's been the case for hundreds of her former athletes, many of whom showed up from her Schaumburg and Resurrection teams at a reception following her final home match last Saturday.

"She has affected our lives in many ways," added Gerber, who had a big affect on Tuesday's match with her 11 kills and 6 aces. "Her passion for the game is second to none. She gave it all to her athletes. Her belief in us and her passion every day gave us so much confidence."

That confidence was emphatically evident against the 25-10 Trevians.

Despite the setback in Set 1, the Saxons charged out to 5-0 and 10-3 leads (3 straight aces by Gerber for points 8, 9 and 10).

The set was tied on every point from 12 to 16.

The Saxons fell behind 18-16 but reeled off the final 9 points of the set, getting 8 straight service points by Gerber including 4 aces.

"If we didn't have her (Pancratz), we wouldn't have been able to do that," said Sterrett, who connected for 15 kills. "She was always there for us the whole match. She is always motivating us and encouraging us no matter what the score or situation. She gets us to play to our full potential."

The Saxons rose to the occasion in the third set after falling behind 10-2. They climbed all the way back to within 21-19 on a kill l and ace by Sterrett.

A block by senior setter Jordyn Harberts cut the deficit to 22-20.

Senior middle blocker Julia Spitelli leapt high to force a New Trier hitting error that made it 22-21 before the Trevians were able to score the final 3 points.

"I'm so grateful to have been able to play for coach Pancratz and to be in her presence," Sterrett said. "She has always made sure to keep our heads up."

Pancratz was always up to helping her players.

"I'm so proud my girls," she said, holding back the tears after talking to her players for one final time after Monday's match. "Obviously what I'm going to miss most is the relationship and all the people over the years."

New Trier was led by senior middle hitter Callie Fauntleroy's 13 kills.

"Schaumburg (14-19) is a strong team," said Trevians coach Hannah Hsieh. "We knew coming into the match it wasn't going to be like previous opening-round matches we've had. There are good volleyball teams up in this area and we knew we had to step up against Schaumburg."