Girls volleyball: Severino, Addison Trail defeat Wheaton North in three sets

Which came first: Ally Severino energizing her home crowd or the home crowd energizing Ally Severino?

While the answer may never be known, it was evident Tuesday night that both happened and helped Addison Trail finish off a feisty Wheaton North in an IHSA Class 4A regional semifinal.

"Our team is known to pull away in the third set," said Severino, a junior. "Being on our home floor, the energy, we rely on energy and emotions a lot. We feed off each other."

Severino did a different kind of feeding at the net all night for the Blazers. The middle's 12 kills were key as Addison Trail rebounded to run away with Game 3 in a 25-23, 23-25, 25-16 victory.

With the game on the line, it was Severino and senior outside hitter Jess D'Ambrose who pushed the Blazers across the finish line.

After Wheaton North closed to 17-15 in the decisive set, Severino and D'Ambrose had five combined kills in their team's 8-1 finishing run.

"We just had to stay aggressive, stay on our toes and believe in each other," Severino said.

While Addison Trail's attack finished plays, Blazers coach Dan Styler was impressed with how his team started plays as well.

His team's strong serving performance consistently forced Wheaton North out of its offense, especially in the third set. Three Blazers tallied at least three aces: D'Ambrose, Pauline Wirbicki and Katrina Bielanski.

"Our serving pressure helped significantly," Styler said. "Wheaton North has two very active middles. When they are passing well, they like to activate them and get them going. … We were pulling their setters off the net and trying to get their other hitters to beat us.

"I think we were a little more comfortable with our serving pressure in that third set."

A back-and-forth first set turned Addison Trail's way, 17-12, during a 5-0 run with Wirbicki serving.

The Falcons didn't go away, however, and pulled to within 24-23 before Mia Johnson slapped a kill off the block to end things.

The momentum had shifted, though, and Wheaton North - led by three kills by senior outside hitter Amee Beadle - sprinted to a 7-0 lead in Set 2.

Addison Trail shaved away at the lead most of the set, getting within two a couple times before taking an improbable lead at 19-18 after a Wirbicki ace and Bielanski kill.

Down 21-19, Wheaton North showed resolve, getting three kills from Elena Fender and another from Olivia Scott to force a third set.

Falcons coach Carole Kristensen credited her two leaders for the rally.

"That was the leadership of Amee Beadle and Maggie Biegalski," she said. "Those two really pulled the team together."

But the work Addison Trail put in to fight back in the second set - in addition to a lineup change in which Styler allowed Severino to play through all six rotations - paid off in the third.

The Blazers had a steady 3-point lead throughout the set and surged late to finish it off.

"That good burst was something we can use as momentum heading into Game 3," Styler said. "It's a unique sport. If we were playing worse at the end of that game, it could have trickled over, but I think we got off to a better start because of how we finished Game 2."

Addison Trail, the sectional's fifth seed, will face Downers Grove South, the sectional's fourth seed, in the regional finale Thursday night after the Mustangs downed Lake Park in straight sets Tuesday night.