Girls volleyball: Burlington Central nets title at Richmond-Burton
Burlington Central's girls volleyball team scored a championship last weekend, winning the Richmond-Burton tournament.
In the process, the Rockets knocked off McHenry in the semifinals, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10. McHenry recently ended Huntley's 28-game Fox Valley Conference winning streak.
Central then beat host Richmond in the championship game 17-25, 25-20, 18-16.
Leading the Rockets (14-9 overall, 6-6 FVC in the tournament were Leah Freesemann (Jr. outside, 40 total kills, 3.6 kills per set, 4 aces, 29 digs, 7 blocks), Ashli Bonds (Sr. outside, 28 total kills, 2 aces, 15 digs), Haidyn Schatz (So. outside, 21 total kills, 5 aces, 32 digs), Brianna Gritzman (Jr libero, 54 digs, 4.5 digs per set, 5 aces, 14 assists), Ashley Arceo (Sr. setter/opp, 54 assists, 14 kills, 4 aces), Julia Johnson (So. opp, 9 total blocks, 15 kills, .387 hitting percentage for the day), Ainsley Wilson (Fr. middle, 7 blocks), and Tiernan Naus (Fr. setter, 30 assists, 5 aces).
Two Rockets made their varsity debuts at the tournament: Hayden Sheldon (So. DS, 4 digs and an ace), and Leah Bellak (So. outside added an ace and 2 digs).
Gritzman is now leading the FVC in digs with 258.
Fenton update:
Fenton went for 4-1 at the IMSA tourney on Saturday to finish second behind a 22-5 Oak Lawn team. The Bison (15-14) beat Larkin, Westmont, East Aurora and IMSA. Some notable performers at the tourney were senior Giselle Garcia (12 aces), senior Gigi Valegurschi (27 kills), senior Gracen Haska (22 kills), senior Lily Du (32 digs) and junior Sammy Martens, who had 5 kills in the win over Larkin.
Aurora Christian update:
Aurora Christian Eagles had an exciting homecoming week by winning their homecoming game against Westmont. They ended the week losing to Timothy Christian in a close match. The Eagles' record now stands at 14-7-2. Hope Wagner leads the team with 187 kills and aces served (52). Jada Haymon leads with 39 blocks. Madalynn Johnson leads with 111 digs and 246 serve receptions.
Jacobs update:
Jacobs had a tough week last week, coach Mike Depa said. "We had two 3-set match losses to Hampshire and Huntley," he said. "I continue to be impressed with how we are playing even when we lose close matches. I like how positive our team stays during and after losses and we are continuing to improve our defensive mentality. We look to bounce back this week with matches against Cary-Grove and Dundee-Crown.
Battle for the Cup:
The annual Scholastic Cup tournament hosted by St. Charles East begins Friday at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora. The tougher-than-tough field includes Benet, Plainfield East, Edwardsville, Warren, Geneva, Rosary, Hinsdale Central, Waubonsie Valley, Joliet West, Plainfield Central, Lincoln-Way East, Naperville North, Minooka, Neuqua Valley, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Normal West, Oswego, and Prairie Ridge.
Pool play begins at 5 p.m. Friday and the championship match is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.