Girls volleyball: Barrington, Stevenson advance to sectional title match

Three was the number for Barrington's girls volleyball team on Monday night at the Class 4A Hoffman Estates sectional semifinal.

The top-seeded Fillies notched win No. 3 this fall over the host Hawks and earned a third straight appearance in the Sweet Sixteen where they will meet No. 2 seed Stevenson for the sectional championship on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

"We played one of our most complete matches in weeks," said Barrington coach Michelle Jakubowski.

The Fillies were a two-set winner when it faced Stevenson in the season opener for both on Aug. 22 in Barrington.

"I'm very proud of our team and program," Jakubowski said. "We are looking forward to playing a very strong Stevenson team (31-7) on Wednesday."

The Mid-Suburban League champion Fillies' record climbed to 33-5, their third straight season with 33 or more wins under Jakubowski who owns a 224-133 record in her 10 seasons in charge at Barrington.

The Fillies will be trying for a 14th sectional and third for Jakubowski on Wednesday.

Barrington senior Berkeley Ploder put down 5 kills and collected 7 blocks. "Berkeley had a strong match at the net," Jakubowski said.

Jenna Meitzler led the Fillies' attack with 6 kills along with 8 assists, 1 dig, 2 points and 1 block.

Other leaders for Barfrington were Molly Kozak (4 digs, 3 points), Whitney Mall (4 kills), Gwen Adler (14 assists, 11 points, 2 aces, 1 kill), Addie Brookbank (2 aces, 4 points, 4 digs), Sarah Jensen (5 points, 2 digs), Mia Modugno (5 points), Molly O'Riordan (1 kill) and Hope Regas (5 kills, 1 block).

Hoffman Estates, under the direction of Pat Moran, completed its winningest season since 1986 with a 26-11 record.

Stevenson d. Hersey: Stevenson, which has played in 30 sectionals winning 12 (last in 2016), pulled out a 26-24, 17-25, 25-22 triumph over No. 3 Hersey in the second semifinal of the Class 4A Hoffman Estates sectional.

Mid-Suburban East champ Hersey (27-9) was playing in its 30th sectional.

Stevenson, co-champions in the North Suburban Conference, were led by Brynn Smith (14 kills, 2 aces, 12 digs, 2 blocks), Mija Jegers (13 kills, 9 digs), Ava Wysocki (8 kills, 3 blocks), Cayla Weisner (4 kills, 5 digs, 4 blocks), Adriana Voshtina (1 kill, 3 blocks), Alice Birtig (5 aces, 14 digs), Rachel Shin (14 assists) and Kyra Costabile (20 assists).

"This match was a grind," said Stevenson coach Tim Crow, a winner of 604 matches. "Both teams struggled with serve-receive all night long. Our block once again kept us in the match. I'm proud of the way the girls handled the adversity and beat a great team in Hersey."

Libertyville d. Hononegah: Libertyville raised its record to 29-9 by winning its semifinal of the Class 4A Huntley sectional 25-8, 25-17 over Hononegah (27-11).

The Wildcats, who have won 13 sectionals, will try for their first since 2020 on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. when they face Warren (26-10), a winner over host Huntley.

Libertyville served 10 aces in the match, led by Mia Colton with six. She also had 4 digs.

"We were able to frustrate Hononegah with aggressive serving and winning the battle of first contact," said Wildcats coach Greg Loika. "We controlled the match from the start. We played well when they were out of system."

Although Hononegah outsized Libertyville across the front line, the Wildcats led in blocks 8-2.

Other leaders for the Wildcats were Jaimie Marquardt (16 assists, 10 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill), Hannah Fleming (8 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace), Meyer (3 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs), Kylie Hughes (1 kill, 1 block), Avery Maddux (4 kills, 3 blocks), Lily Evans (2 kills, 2 blocks), Charlie Fleegle (2 assists, 9 digs) and Sky Rohrbach (4 digs).

Ruth Ziegler (10 kills, 8 digs), Lauren Schilz (7 kills, 9 digs) and Maddie Wojdyla (5 kills, 19 assists, 7 digs) led the Blue Devils.

"The girls showcased remarkable skills. resilience and poise," said Warren coach Yun Chen. "It's been a fantastic journey so far filled with fireworks and we can't wait to see them continue to dance their way to success."

The Blue Devils are making their 16th appearance in a sectional. They've won two (1997 and 2005).

New Trier d. Maine South: Top-seeded New Trier (28-6) won the semifinal of the Class 4A Glenbrook South sectional with a 25-13, 25-23 over No. 4 Maine South at the Titan Dome in Glenview.

Coach Kathleen Durkin had the Hawks (14-16) playing in their ninth sectional and first since 2014. Sofia Rossi led South with 9 kills.

Belvidere North d. Carmel: No. 2 seeded Belvidere North (20-16) took a 25-19 25-21 decision from No. 4 Carmel (18-20) to earn the semifinal win at the Class 3A Woodstock North sectional.

"Belvidere North worked their pins well and our offense struggled to earn points against their scrappy defense," said Corsairs coach Dave Pazely, who had Carmel making its 15th sectional appearance and first since 2019. "Congratulations to our seniors for winning a regional championship and their years of dedication. We will miss them."

Leading the Corsairs were senior libero and captain Isa Swiatkowski (13 digs and a serve-receive score of 2.17/3) and senior middle hitter Abbey Sullivan (7 kills on 11 attempts and 2 digs).

Warren d. Huntley:

About the time it made sense for Warren to panic - trailing by two points midway through the third set - the Blue Devils instead chose to remain calm.

But when Maddie Wojdyla tipped match point over the next to an open spot on the floor, the Blue Devils understandably went a little crazy.

Warren (26-10) came back from a second-set thumping and outscored Huntley, 12-5, in the final stretches of the deciding set to defeat the Red Raiders, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20, in the Class 4A Huntley sectional semifinals.

The victory sends the Blue Devils to Wednesday's title match against Libertyville (29-9), which defeated Hononegah, 25-8, 25-17 in the night's first match. The title game will be the third meeting between Libertyville and Warren. The Wildcats won both of the previous meetings.

Huntley held a 15-13 advantage in the third set after a powerful kill from junior Georgia Watson (15 kills). But the Blue Devils rallied behind Illinois State-bound Ruth Ziegler and junior Lauren Schilz to pull even at 15. The match remained tight and was knotted at 18 before Warren scored five straight points - two kills and a tip from Schilz - for a 23-18 lead.

"That's just what we do. We've been in pressure situations like this before. We prepare for moments like that," said Ziegler, who came into the match with 320 kills on the season. "It's what we needed after that second set (loss). We felt like we had nothing to lose and we were going to leave it all there on the court. Now we get a third chance at Libertyville and hopefully the third time's the charm."

Huntley (31-7) played through the loss of senior middle blocker Avery Gonzalez, who left the contest with an injury just minutes into the first set.

Neither team managed more than a three-point lead in the first set until Warren grabbed a 23-19 lead on a Huntley error. Ziegler, a 6-3 senior, delivered the final two points on kills to end the set.

Huntley stormed back in the second set opening leads of 10-4 and 21-8 behind Jones (6 kills, 7 aces), Watson, and Sienna Robertson (6 kills). The Raiders recorded eight aces in that set. Warren responded by keeping the final set close until its late surge to secure the victory and advance further than any girls team in school history.

"These girls trust one another and they play for one another," Warren coach Yun Chen said. "What you saw out there is who they are. They're out there having fun. They played relaxed when it got close and they just played the game they love."

- Sam Natrop, Shaw Local