Girls volleyball: St. Francis rallies for supersectional win

St. Francis fell behind early against Metamora in Friday night's Class 3A Sterling supersectional at Musgrove Fieldhouse, but after some key second-set adjustments, it came back with a vengeance and won 24-26, 25-15, 25-13.

The Spartans last reached the state tournament in 2015 - the final year of a four-peat championship run.

Now, they'll look to add a 13th state title to their trophy case back in Wheaton.

The first set of the supersectional tilt was tightly-contested, as neither team could spark a significant run. The Redbirds went up 7-5 after an Esma Frieden kill, then St. Francis took back the lead at 9-8 as Emma Delaney put down a block.

The lead changes went back and forth up to a 24-24 tie.

Metamora stretched its lead to 22-18 as Mia Querciagrossa slammed a kill down the center of the court, but the Spartans quickly recovered after a timeout. Liv Basel served a Redbirds ace to tie it at 22-22, and Querciagrossa spiked a kill to tie it again at 24-24.

An Izzy Vandeschraaf kill followed by a Ella Stivers ace closed out the 26-24 win, putting Metamora in the driver's seat early.

But the Spartans would quickly take the wheel in the second set.

St. Francis raced to a 10-4 lead after consecutive kills by Brooke Everett and Anna Paquette; Cece Gilroy put down a block to make it 12-4 Spartans, and the Redbirds were forced to use a timeout.

"I think we kind of just lost control of our serve-receive and our emotions, so we kind of lost the energy," Addy Horner said of losing the first set. "In between the first and second set we reset ourselves, and the coaches talked to us, and I think we just remembered our skill was there and we knew we could win it."

"I don't think we were concerned - I think we had the confidence that we've been building throughout the entire season," Everett added about the first-set loss. "So I think we just needed to stick with that confidence and have some grit, and push through it."

Metamora responded with a brief run of its own, drawing within 12-8 on a Bella Gregory kill, but the Redbirds were stymied shortly thereafter.

Jess Schmidt crushed a kill for a 15-9 lead, then hammered another for a 17-10 advantage. A Schmidt block pushed the margin to 18-10.

Horner spiked four kills in the 7-5 run that would follow, and Paquette knocked in the final point to even the match with a 25-15 second-set win.

"I think the key was we really came together as a team," Horner said of the second-set resurgence. "This year, we've struggled a lot with playing together, and as the season's gone on, we've gotten better and better at it. Our energy was there, and we all did our jobs."

The third set was dictated by St. Francis early, as Horner served five aces over a six-point stretch, including four in a row, to take a sizable 11-5 lead. Metamora pulled within 12-9 after a pair of Spartan hitting errors and a kill by Frieden, but that's as close it got.

"I think just seeing how the other team was kind of going downhill, and we just kind of capitalized on their mental game and struggles, and just pushed through," Everett said of the third set.

Catherine D'Orazio served back-to-back aces for a 15-9 lead, Delaney slammed a kill for a 20-11 advantage, and a 5-2 closing run sealed the trip to state. Everett hammered a kill for the 24th point, and a Metamora serving error concluded the match at 25-13.

"The third set, I think you know if you lose, you're done, so you have to put your all on the court," Horner said. "In practice all year we've done serving drills that's prepared us for this, so I think that's helped us a ton. And just my coaches and my teammates helping me with confidence."

Horner served six aces, spiked 12 kills and tallied four digs, while Everett slammed eight kills, and Paquette and Schmidt hammered five kills apiece; Paquette also had six digs. Basel served two aces and hit 10 digs, while Delaney chipped four blocks for the Spartans. D'Orazio added seven digs and two aces.

Frieden led Metamora with 12 kills, Querciagrossa notched seven kills, and Gregory spiked four kills and served two aces.

"It feels amazing [to be moving on to state]," Horner said. "I'm so grateful to be a part of this program and have the opportunity to do this. I'm super grateful."

Added Everett: "Amazing. I'm so excited."