Girls volleyball: Glenbard East edges South Elgin for Upstate Eight title

Playing before a frenzied packed house, the girls volleyball teams from Glenbard East and host South Elgin waged a back-and-forth battle for Upstate Eight Conference supremacy Tuesday night.

When the dust settled, the Rams (27-7, 9-0) emerged on top - barely.

Led by powerful 6-foot senior outside hitters Allison Hamaker and Sarah Elliott, the Rams earned their second conference championship in 3 years with a 29-27, 29-27 straight-set victory over a valiant Storm (26-9, 8-1) team.

"At the end of the game, it's about making plays," said Rams coach Marci Maier. "We're very fortunate that we came through.

"There were a lot of rallies that could've gone either way but I liked that our defense held firm against an excellent offense. Our defense picked up a couple key ones and we were able to offensively put them away."

Attempting to become the first U-46 girls volleyball team to win a conference title since 1997 (when Larkin finished 35-2-1), South Elgin enjoyed leads of 10-6, 15-11, and 19-16 in the opening set.

With senior outside hitter Hayley Fisher (13 kills) and junior middle Angelina Negron (8 kills, 5 blocks) sparking the attack, the Storm had their share of opportunities to grab an early advantage.

Fighting off a pair of set points, the Rams pulled out the first set on back-to-back kills from Elliott (9 kills, 2 aces).

"We really focused on staying calm and taking control of the 'controllables' on our side of the net," said Elliott. "After we would get a kill or a key point, Emily (Sarles) would settle us down."

Glenbard East carried its momentum into the second set, opening a 9-4 advantage following a service ace from sophomore Becca Honig (2 aces).

The Rams still led 21-17 before the Storm made another late push.

Negron's block kill, a service ace from McKayla Geraghty, kill from Fisher, and push kill from Negron capped a 5-point run that propelled South Elgin to a 22-21 lead.

The Storm had 2 more set-point chances to force a decisive third game but Glenbard East responded.

After a powerful kill from the left-handed swinging Hamaker (12 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces) tied the score at 27-all, the Rams took the lead on a Storm hitting error before Hamaker's ace sealed the deal.

"This was a playoff atmosphere," said Maier, whose team will host regionals next week. "I'm very proud of our girls for keeping composure and being focused on what we needed to do to be successful."

"It was beyond anything I can explain," added Sarles. "It was awesome to beat them, especially on their Senior Night."

Kendall Richardson (4 kills, ace) and Rylee Pompa (3 kills, block) supported the cause for the Storm.

"It was a great match to watch," said Storm coach Joni Plach, who was a key member of Larkin's 1997 conference champion team. "We had a big crowd here. It went back and forth with a lot of game points.

"It's fun to just play and have a little practice for regionals next week."

South Elgin also serves as a regional host next week.

"We're really hoping to win that," said Fisher.