Girls volleyball: Waubonsie Valley tops West Aurora in two sets
Waubonsie Valley was intent on avoiding a third set against West Aurora on Thursday evening in quest of a third straight girls volleyball regional championship.
The Warriors did not suffer a shortage of players coming to the forefront at their Class 4A regional final in Aurora.
With fifth-seeded West Aurora clamoring for a third-set tiebreaker, Waubonsie Valley, the third seed of the Bolingbrook sectional complex, scored the final five points to seal the 25-22, 25-23 victory.
The Warriors (27-10) advanced to face Plainfield North at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the second sectional semifinal. West Aurora had its season end at 26-10.
"We couldn't let the moment get too big," said Waubonsie Valley senior Aryanna Ruffin, "We knew we had the training, and it was a matter of execution."
Waubonsie Valley trailed 20-23 in the second set when a costly West Aurora service error produced a sideout. The Blackhawks then committed an equally untimely violation to bring Waubonsie Valley within a point. Rianna DeMyers' block, her match-high fifth of the night, then knotted the score for the Warriors.
It was only fitting Gabi Croll had the last of her match-high 13 kills to deliver match point for the Warriors.
"It was just a really strong adrenaline rush," Croll said of the Warriors' 24th point. "I knew I had a really strong blocker (Olivia McPherson) across the net from me. I was just swinging away, trying to get the last point or two."
West Aurora suffered an ironic end to its season when the Warriors' Jessica Molina had an ace - a statistical category in which the Blackhawks held a decided edge in the match - for the final point.
Neither team led by more than 4 points in either set, and there were 21 total ties. But Waubonsie Valley repeatedly found the correct formula when needed.
In an equally tense first set the Warriors overcame Chloey Myers' brilliant play for West Aurora to secure the 3-point advantage.
Ruffin had a kill and set-winning block for the Warriors in the final 3-point sequence.
"Blocks are a very big momentum changer," Ruffin said. "They are very hard to get. When you get one, it can change the whole aspect to the game."
Myers had a team-high 11 kills, 3 first-set aces in succession and 3 digs for West Aurora.
"I think we just fell short on talking," Myers said of the season-ending ace. "Sometimes it happens in big matches like this. I think I did pretty well hitting. We were switching up our hits. It got us some great kills."
In their final matches for the program, setter Jenna Millen had 20 assists and 7 digs, McPherson added 8 kills and Hannah Gove was repeatedly active along the front row.
West Aurora used aces as a principal weapon as McPherson and Lauren Greenwood had a pair each to augment Myers' match-high total.
"We were trying to serve aggressive and keep (Waubonsie Valley) in system," West Aurora coach Kevin Mortlock said. "They're a really powerful team up front. I thought we played well. We were in the right spots, but the ball bounced (the Warriors') way."