Girls volleyball: Barrington tops Wheaton North to win Jacobs invite
Barrington senior standout Campbell Paris hurt her back before the first match of pool play against Lake Forest in Saturday's Jacobs girls volleyball invitational in Algonquin.
The Fillies didn't flinch.
Led by senior four-year starter Jessica Horwath, Barrington won the Jacobs invite with a perfect 5-0 slate.
The Fillies, 6-0 overall, cruised past Cary-Grove 25-7, 25-9 in the semifinals and won the title with a 25-16, 26-24 win over Wheaton North.
The Falcons advanced to the finals with a 25-9, 25-14 win over Crystal Lake Central in the semifinals.
"We have not practiced without Campbell all season so it was interesting to see how we would do," said Barrington's ninth-year coach Michelle Jakubowksi. "We had a little letdown in the second game (championship match). We were focused for the day and Jessica is like a coach on the floor. She is like a 22-year old coach on the court. She was a leader when she took the court as a freshman. She is focused, mature and talented."
In Game 1 of the championship game with the score tied at 13, Horwath took over. The senior outside hitter delivered 4 kills and 4 aces as Barrington went on a pivotal 8-0 run. Her fourth ace gave the Fillies a 21-13 lead. Horwath's kill gave Barrington a 1-0 lead in the match.
Wheaton North (9-4) challenged Barrington in Game 2. Senior outside hitter Audrey Brcka slammed a kill to give the Falcons a 23-20 lead.
Barrington, third place in the state's Class 4A tournament a year ago, responded with a 6-1 run to win the game and match. Caroline Petitgout had 3 kills during the pivotal surge including the game- and match-winner.
Horwath, who will play Division I beach volleyball at the University of Arizona, filled the stat sheet for the champions with 15 kills and 5 aces.
"We certainly miss Campbell," said Horwath. "We work hard and trust each other. We communicated and played connected with energy and as one unit."
Brcka paced the runners-up with 6 kills.
"We were 8-0 in sets the first 4 matches of the day and tried to ride that momentum into the championship match," said Wheaton North coach Justin Hineman. "We were flat in the first game and you can't do that against a quality team like Barrington. That is a scary proposition. We had too many unforced errors in the first game. We were much better in the second game.
"We can build off of that with a lot of tough matches in the DuKane Conference coming up."
In the third-place match, Crystal Lake Central defeated Cary-Grove, 25-20, 25-11.