Girls volleyball: Fremd shoves aside Loyola to reach sectional final
To Fremd's girls volleyball team, the high-five is so ... yesterday.
Today's trendy congratulatory gesture in Vikings Land is the fun shove. Notch a kill, get shoved - somewhat gently - by a teammate.
Or two.
Fremd senior middle Claudia Wala (4 kills, 3 block kills) absorbed more than a few such thrusts Monday night in the Vikes' 25-13, 25-20 defeat of Loyola Academy in a Class 4A Schaumburg semifinal.
"I do that to my teammates when I want to transfer my energy to them," Fremd senior libero Isabela Segoviano (4 digs) explained. "Maybe I startled Claudia a little tonight. You can never have enough energy in a volleyball match.
"Shoving," she added, "is a move that shouts, 'Let's go!' "
The triumph pushed third-seeded Fremd (36-2) to Wednesday's sectional final (6 p.m.) against top-seeded New Trier (24-11), which defeated Niles West 25-20, 25-18 in Monday's first semifinal.
Fremd senior outside hitter Rylen Reid, once again, was brilliant all night, smacking match highs of 12 kills and 5 aces against second-seeded Loyola (31-7). Four of her aces came in a 6-point stretch in the first set, with the fourth upping the Vikings' lead to a Grand Canyon-esque 15-4.
"Pretty darn good," impressed and pleased Fremd coach Curt Pinley said before addressing a post-match question. "We were aggressive, from start to finish. My coaches, I have to tell you, are great assistants. They scouted incredibly well, and our girls executed the way they needed to execute.
"This," he added, "was a 'program' effort."
Fremd opposite hitter Victoria Belmonte struck 7 kills. The final 3 kills of the first set? Belmonte, Belmonte, Belmonte. A sensational dig from Segoviano preceded the set-point kill.
Vikings senior setter Rian Baker (51-for-51, 24 assists) piloted the offense smoothly and efficiently. Scary-good numbers, on the night after Halloween.
Fremd senior outside hitter Samantha Gump finished with a pair of aces.
"Tonight was all about playing together and communicating well," Wala said a few minutes after popping for a block kill on match point. "Everybody could see how well we supported each other."
Pinley didn't call a timeout all night.
Didn't have to call a timeout.
The coach trusted his senior-laden (12) crew to remain focused and energized, even after Loyola had trimmed Fremd's advantage to 16-15 in the second set.
"There's been such a positive vibe from this group in the last few weeks," Pinley said. "Those shoves my players were giving on the court tonight - those, to me, showed how much fun they're having while competing. I'm not worried about how loose that might look.
"This team," he continued, "thrives on such an approach."
Senior outside hitter Mia McGrath paced the Ramblers' attack with 8 kills, including 4 en route to her club's 5-3 lead in the second set.