Girls volleyball: Tarcha's spicy serves lift Carmel in regional final
Standing on a first-row bleacher seat and not far from the corner where Eileen Tarcha was serving volleyballs, a teenager dressed up as a giant taco on Halloween tried to tempt Carmel Catholic's star outside hitter.
So did other Grayslake Central student fans.
Every fun-loving student-cheering section needs a little spice, taco guy or not, right?
Tarcha wouldn't bite, so to speak.
"They were all screaming really loud when I was serving," a smiling Tarcha said. "I was just focused on getting (the serve) in."
Tarcha brought the hot sauce. The senior's spicy serves helped the Corsairs build a huge lead in the opening set en route to a 25-2, 25-14 win in the Class 3A Carmel regional final on Thursday night.
Carmel stunned No. 9 Grayslake Central (16-20) early and never relented, finishing with 9 aces in a match that was over in 30 minutes.
"I think nervousness was our biggest thing," Rams senior libero Taylor Ford said. "Playing in a regional final, we didn't do that last year. It's a young team (varsity experience). We were a little shaken up by the atmosphere. But I think by the end of the game, we really started to fight."
Top-seeded Carmel (31-5) advanced to the Vernon Hills sectional and will play No. 4 Deerfield at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the first semifinal. The Corsairs had received a regional-semifinal bye due to the double forfeit of Senn and Northside caused by the Chicago Teachers Union strike, which ended Thursday.
"We would rather play, obviously," coach David Pazely said after his Corsairs won their seventh regional championship in nine years and second in as many seasons. "I feel bad for the CPS schools. All those girls worked hard all season long and, all of a sudden, season's over. I understand what (the teachers) are doing and what they're fighting for. We'll take the win and move forward."
Tarcha served 4 aces in helping Carmel bolt to a 16-0 lead in the opening set. Grayslake Central senior Kate Bullman ended the run with a kill, and she delivered another after the Corsairs had extended their lead to 22-1.
"There's a reason why Eileen is our first server," Pazely said of Tarcha. "You saw that tonight."
Grayslake Central enjoyed a 5-4 lead in the second set, but a pair of aces by Annie Bart (match-high 12 kills) helped provide Carmel the momentum it needed. Fittingly, the match ended on an ace, by Shannon Brennan.
"Usually our serve-receive is pretty solid," Rams first-year coach Klaudia Basierak said. "It happens. Sometimes you have an 'off' day."
Carmel had not played a match in nine days, but Pazely wasn't surprised that his team showed no ill effects of the layoff.
"You could see that (possibly happening)," he said. "But we make them fight in practice every day."
Tarcha added 7 kills, Kaitlyn Donton dished out 20 assists, and Mya Mainzer had 2 aces.
"It was a really good start," Tarcha said. "We just had a lot of energy coming out right away because we wanted to win. I think we were all just super motivated."
Bullman, the 6-foot-1 Illinois State basketball commit, finished with 5 kills and 3 blocks. Elizabeth Strum served 3 aces, all in Set 2, for the Rams.
"Our team has grown from where we started at the beginning of the season to where we ended," Basierak said. "I'm super proud of them."
Grayslake North d. Resurrection: At Grayslake North, the Knights' historic season continued, as they won their first regional championship, ousting the No. 12 seed 25-14, 25-13 in Class 3A action.
No. 3 Grayslake North advanced to the Vernon Hills sectional and will play No. 2 Wheaton St. Francis at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the second semifinal.
The Knights (25-12) were led by Lexie Baker with 12 digs, while Alyssa Gerzel paced a balanced offense with 7 kills and 6 block kills. Jessica Pozezinski added 6 kills and 9 service points, Emmy Bongiovanni had 4 kills and 3 blocks, Emily Porter chipped in 4 kills, and Lindsey Diep and Abby Cunningham lofted 11 and 9 assists, respectively.