Girls volleyball: Palatine makes it eight in a row

After dropping four Mid-Suburban West matches by 2 points in the third, Palatine's girls volleyball team figured out best way to prevent that result again.

Just win in two sets.

Going up against West leader Fremd, the Pirates captured their biggest conference win of the season with a 25-20, 25-22 triumph over the defending champs, who can still clinch at least a tie for the title with a win on Thursday against visiting Conant.

Fremd (15-7, 7-2) is tied with Schaumburg (14-8, 7-2) for first place in the West.

The Pirates (20-8, 5-4) dropped a tough three-set match at Fremd three weeks ago but came into Tuesday on a seven-match winning streak.

"Thankfully, we didn't go to three sets," said Illinois Wesleyan recruit Beverly Ryan, who tied teammate Haley Holz with a match-high 10 kills for Palatine. "Usually we go to three and kind of breakdown at the end. I think we were relieved we could finish it in two and not have that stress at the end."

There was enough stress in the end of Set 2 when the Pirates were down 24-22.

Back-to-back kills by Holz tied it at 24 before Ryan's kill gave the hosts a 25-24 lead.

Peyton Hooker's kill tied it again 25 before another kill by Holz made it 26-25.

Ryan followed with the match-winning kill off classmate Allison Aldag's quick set and it gave the Pirates their seventh 20-win campaign in coach Dan Gavin's 11 seasons.

"That's a tribute to kids who have come through the program," Gavin said. "They've bought in, they've been disciplined and they've worked hard. We've been fortunate to have the opportunity to have them on the court and be able to coach them."

Fremd gave its best shot at getting the match to a third set, building a 16-11 lead on an ace by Maddie Aichinger.

But Palatine kept cutting into the deficit.

"The difference from the first time we played them was defense," said Pirates senior setter Allison Aldag, who handed out 27 assists. "We were all on the same page this time and that boosted our offense."

The defense was led by senior Katie Lindert (14 digs) and Amanda Delio (8). Sophomore Sarah Elischer, Ryan and sophomore Emily Campe (4 kills) each had a block.

Lindert (3 aces) had a big ace when the Pirates were rallying from the 16-11 deficit in Set 2. Holz also served 3 aces while Delio had 1.

"It's a really a big win," Aldag added. "We were kind of bummed because we thought we had them the first time we played. This was definitely a win we needed and will boost us for the postseason."

Fremd led 18-16 in Set 1 but 2 service points by Lindert, including an ace, tied the set as the Pirates closed with a 9-2 run.

"We knew coming here tonight that Palatine was going to be loaded for bear," said Fremd coach Curt Pinley. "And they did a fantastic job. Holz did a great job on the outside and we struggled with her serve receiving. Offensively, I thought they did a really nice job in the first set."

Hooker (2 blocks) had 4 of her team-high 6 kills in Set 2. Jess Rizzo added 4 kills and Heidi Sayre had 2. Sarah Straup set the attack with 9 assists and a couple of key kills.

Straup and Hooker each had 3 blocks while Aichinger led with 5 digs.

"I thought we played them pretty tough in Set 2 and it could have gone either way," Pinley added. "But to Palatine's credit, they didn't falter like a few weeks ago when we played them. The finished tonight and I tip my cap to Dan (Gavin). He obviously has his team playing better at the right time of the year."

"We're starting to be a little more consistent in our commitment to what we're doing," Gavin said. "The communication on the court is getting better and that is resulting in positive results."