Girls volleyball: Carmel adds to regional collection

Another volleyball season, another regional championship for Carmel senior captain Grace Butler.

For the fourth year in a row, Butler and her teammates are regional champs after the Corsairs beat Northside College Prep 27-25, 25-22 in the Class 3A Northside regional final on Thursday night.

Butler, a four-year varsity player, had 23 assists, 4 kills, 4 blocks and 14 digs, as second-seeded Carmel (26-11) earned a berth in the Woodstock sectional. The Corsairs will play No. 3 St. Viator in a semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Carmel trailed No. 10 Northside early in both sets.

"Northside put the pressure on us right from the start with some strong hitting from the outsides and scrappy defense," Corsairs coach David Pazely said. "But credit to our girls. They stayed composed and fought back. Some unforced errors at inopportune times kept it close, but with some adjustments the team was able to pull out a well-earned win."

Lauren Nelson added 7 kills and 5 blocks for Carmel, while Erin Taylor had 7 kills as well. Alyssa Dellert notched 5 kills and 2 blocks. Carmel's other contributors included Mia DiBartolo (1 ace, 6 digs), Madi Meyer (8 digs, 3 assists), Jolina Moisio (2 aces, 4 digs), Sarah Nelson (1 block, 1 dig), Eileen Tarcha (2 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs) and Maia Yonke (2 kills).

The regional title was also Carmel's fifth in six years under Pazely.

"I'm proud of this team for growing as much as they have throughout the season and finding ways to win, despite their youth," Pazely said.

Carmel beat East Suburban Catholic Conference rival St. Viator 26-24, 25-17 during the regular season.

"So we know it will be a tough matchup," Pazely said. "It's never easy to beat the same team multiple times. And we know that (top-seeded) Marian Central is on the other side. The returning state champs have a lot of firepower again this year and will be hard for anyone to beat."

Palatine d. Lakes: At Waukegan, the fourth-seeded Pirates won the Class 4A regional 25-19, 25-16.

McKenna Lahr had 8 kills and 8 digs for No. 5 Lakes (25-11), while Katie Billetdeaux pounded 6 kills. Kelly Zeason collected 3 kills and 3 blocks. Also for the Eagles, Kaylee Lebron rang up 2 kills, 2 blocks and 7 digs, Paige Bartlett registered 11 digs, Rachel Orpano dished out 19 assists, and Erica Grant posted 8 digs.

Palatine will play top-seeded Libertyville in the Lakes sectional semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Marian Central d. Vernon Hills: At Vernon Hills, the top-seeded Hurricanes dispatched the eighth-seeded Cougars 25-13, 25-9 to win the Class 3A regional final.

Sydney Nemtuda had 9 kills, 3 aces and 2 blocks for Marian Central (36-1), which also got 15 assists and 5 digs from McKayla Wuensch.

Marian Central will next play No. 5 Resurrection in the Woodstock sectional semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Lake Forest d. Lake Forest: At Deerfield, the third-seeded Scouts outlasted the sixth-seeded Bears 22-25, 25-15, 25-17 to win the Class 4A regional championship.

Lake Forest will take on No. 2 Stevenson's in Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Lakes.