Girls volleyball: St. Charles North downs Geneva for regional title, Hawkins' 300th win
No. 300 came at the perfect time for St. Charles North girls volleyball coach Lindsey Hawkins.
After losing twice to Geneva in the regular season, the North Stars won when it mattered most, beating the Vikings on their home court Thursday night 25-22, 25-23 to win the Class 4A Geneva regional.
The win gave Hawkins 300 in just her 11th season at St. Charles North, the fact she got there so quickly a testament to how good her teams have been.
This year's No. 6 seeded North Stars (19-15) might not have as many wins as some of the recent teams but is peaking at the right time.
"We lost to them twice but were getting closer every time," senior Kyla Lannert said. "We've just improved leaps and bounds. We have a lot of young talent and we just needed the time to get here. It just takes time to develop."
St. Charles North will look to avenge another loss Monday at the Class 4A Dundee-Crown sectional when it plays No. 3 seed St. Charles East, a 25-14, 25-18 winner over Rockford Guilford.
Geneva, the second seed, ends its season at 23-13.
Sophomore Riley Moreno got the North Stars off to a good start when she capped a long rally on the opening point by stuffing a hard hit from Geneva, then doing it again on the second point for a quick 2-0 lead.
The North Stars served five aces by five different players to keep Geneva on its heels.
"They came ready to play much to their credit," Geneva coach Annie Seitelman said. "They did a nice job serving us aggressively and got us in that hole early on."
The North Stars went up by a much as seven on several occasions, the final time at 19-12, before Anna Loberg set Mary Cate McCormick for a kill to start Geneva's comeback. Still trailing 24-19, the Vikings fought off three set points before Lannert's kill ended it.
Geneva again had to battle back in the second set after the North Stars' 13-4 run turned a 10-6 deficit into a 19-14 lead. This time the Vikings did catch the North Stars at 20-20 and 21-21 before three straight North Stars points - the final one on another Moreno block - made it 24-21.
A cross-court kill by Cassidy Brown and a kill by Loberg kept the Vikings alive before Lannert ended the match with a well-placed tip as Geneva prepared for a big swing.
"I was going to go up and swing but I saw them pull back on me so I just decided to pump it over," Lannert said. "That was the epitome of a team win for us. We all have each other's back so much."
Lannert led the North Stars with 10 kills, Mia Dela Merced and Marissa Guajardo both had 5 and Moreno came up with 5 big blocks.
"We felt this was our time. To see them be resilient and push back when they were pushing on us I'm most proud of them to get it done and get it done in two," said Hawkins who said she didn't know it was her 300th win.
"I've been super blessed with a lot of really talented players and a great coaching staff."
"We're all so proud of Hawkins," Lannert added. "She's an amazing coach and amazing motivator and an amazing person all around."
Brown led Geneva with 10 kills followed by McCormick with 6 and Devynn Day with 4.
Loberg set 18 assists and senior Grace Hinchman had 16 digs for the DuKane Conference champions.
"That's always nice, we've got a lot to be proud of, but it's hard to watch another team celebrate on your home court," Seitelman said. "I felt most of the match we were fighting back. Couple of those momentum plays, those long rallies, weren't going our way tonight."