Girls volleyball: Hersey, Schaumburg in rematch at New Trier

Call it the 'second' Mid-Suburban League girls volleyball championship.

Twelve days ago, Hersey defeated MSL West co-champ Fremd for the official MSL title.

Now the East champ Huskies (29-8) will face MSL West co-champ Schaumburg (23-14) in Monday's semifinal of the Class 4A New Trier sectional in Winnetka.

The match will follow the opening semifinal between No. 1 seed New Trier (31-5) and No. 4 Niles West.

Hersey, the No. 2 seed, is coming off two tense deciding sets in regional play.

The Huskies won the third set over Rolling Meadows 25-23 in the Highland Park regional semifinal, then cut their work down to two sets in the championship against Barrington, winning the decisive set 33-31.

No. 6 seed Schaumburg also won its two regional matches at Niles North over MSL rivals (three sets against Buffalo Grove and two vs. Wheeling).

When Hersey and Schaumburg met for a MSL crossover match on Sept. 5 in Arlington Heights, the Saxons prevailed 13-25 25-22, 25-22 as West co-Player of the Year' Morgan Sterrett put down 20 kills. The senior added 15 digs.

Junior setter Michelle Candotti handed out 27 assists and also had 5 digs while senior Dana Kiszkowski added 7 digs and 4 blocks. Candotti and Ari Doroskin chipped in 3 blocks and Maia Gibbs had 2.

MSL East 'Player of the Year' Kati Kaburov had 12 kills to lead Hersey.

The sophomore also had 3 blocks. Sophomores Juliette van den Herik added 10 kills and Alessia Olhava (6). Senior Emma Strozewski set the offense with 31 assists.

"I told the girls after we lost that match that we'll see them again down the road," said Hersey coach Lill. "And it will be fun."

Lill has coached in 25 sectionals and has won eight.

Former Addison Trail and Lake Park boys coach Tim Murphy is in his first year as the Saxons girls coach,

"We look forward to the match," Murphy said. "Just the opportunity to win a regional and get to play in a sectional is a dream for a lot of our girls. I'm happy for all of them."

at Burlington Central: St. Viator is making its sixth appearance in a sectional under 11-year coach Charlie Curtin.

The Lions, seeded No. 1 in Sub-Sectional B, will face Johnsburg (No. 2 in Sub-Sectional A) at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.

Viator improved to 26-11 with its regional championship victory over Sycamore, which was hosting the Class 3A regional.

Viator was led on attack by Catherine Hickey (15 kills), Kate Nottoli (5 kills), Haylee Liberty (3 kills) and Kendall Claffey (3 kills). Michaela Mueller was 84-of-84 setting with 26 assists while Carrie Leazer led the back row with 15 digs. Nottoli also served 4 aces.

"The key (against Johnsburg) will be staying aggressive with our serving and getting them out of their system right from the beginning" Curtin said. " Also we need to continue to limit our errors on our side of the net."

In two regional matches at Sycamore, the Lions recorded 56 kills with only 12 hitting errors. They also served 21 aces with only 10 misses.

"We are definitely playing our best volleyball right now" Curtin added. "Our mental approach to games and within games is phenomenal. We are playing aggressive but controlled volleyball."

at Westminster Christian: Christian Liberty, which won the Class 1A regional with 26-24, 25-27, 25-10 over Westminster Christian (Elgin), now plays in the Warriors' sectional.

The Chargers will face Newark at 6:30 p.m. on Monday while the 5:30 p.m. semifinal matches Schaumburg Christian against Serena.

Schaumburg Christian advanced with a 25-18, 25-21 win at the North Shore Country Day (Winnetka) regional over the host school.

CLA is the top seed and Schaumburg Christian is No. 2 in Sub-Sectional A while Newark is No. 1 and Serena No. 2 in Sub-Sectional B.