BC 2nd again at Geneva; Whips win at Oregon

The No. 1 player in the land paid a house visit to Geneva on Saturday, and Joliet Catholic's Kelly Murphy more than lived up to her peerless billing.

The Angels' 6-foot-2 southpaw, who seamlessly balances outside hitting and setting with equal brilliance, was a difference-maker in every respect.

Burlington Central and Geneva found out the hard way.

Murphy had 22 of her 54 kills during the Angels' championship-bracket wins over the two schools; the Vikings fell 25-14 and 25-12 in the semifinals, while Central, which nearly forced Joliet Catholic to a decisive third game in the final pool-play match, dropped a 25-18, 25-13 verdict in the championship match.

It was the second year in a row Joliet Catholic claimed the girls volleyball title at Geneva and the second year in a row it downed Burlington Central in the title match.

Joliet Catholic extended its season-opening winning streak to seven with its flawless performance; Geneva is 6-1 after defeating Morris for a second time in the third-place match, and Central stands at 5-2 after its pair of losses to the Angels.

"I try not to think about (the media attention) and play every game," said Murphy, the consensus top-ranked senior in the country. "I definitely have a lot more experience setting. This is the first year I have played on the outside."

Whether blistering winners or providing her teammates textbook opportunities, Murphy was a force all morning and afternoon, fittingly ending the tournament with a clean ace against Central.

"(Murphy) is phenomenal," said Central coach Marv Leavitt. "She can do so many things so well."

"She puts me in a comfort zone," said Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe. "I know it's almost an automatic kill when she hits it."

Central and Joliet Catholic advanced with a pair of easy victories in the opening rounds of pool play, and the Angels emerged with a hard-fought 25-18 and 25-23 victory in the teams' initial encounter.

"I don't know what happened (in the championship match)," said Central senior Brooke Porto. "In the championship game, you have to come out with your 'A' game."

"Burlington Central, they're a scrappy team," said Scheibe. "They didn't look like the same team the second time we played."

Joliet Catholic dominated the middle portions of both games to build healthy cushions, and Central, which topped Morris 25-10, 25-14 to reach the title match, was not as crisp as in the first match.

"Our passing was much sharper in the first match," said Leavitt.

Kim Ingraham (22 kills, 11 blocks) and Teresa Krog (23 kills, 5 blocks, 6 aces) were the Rockets' offensive leaders. Rachael Latham added 17 kills, 7 digs, 6 aces and 17 points while Porto added 9 kills, 8 aces, 25 points and was 35 of 36 on serve receive for the day. Also contributing for the Rockets were Brittany Priest (20 digs, 24 of 38 serve receive), Meghan Zasada (7 kills, 9 aces, 11 digs), Lindsey Lange (20 of 21 serve receive, 14 digs), and Molly Turk (77 assists, 18 digs, 14 blocks, 13 kills, 30 of 31 serve receive)

"They have some very good middles," said Scheibe.

Hampshire at Oregon Invite: Hampshire (6-0) recorded three more wins during Day 2 action at the Oregon Invitational to earn championship honors after defeating Keith Country Day (25-22, 25-12) and Freeport (25-14, 18-25, 15-11) en route to the title match.

Facing Winnebago for it all, the Whips won in two games by scores of 25-12, 25-19. Team leaders included Jena Karkos (34 kills), Jen Kondrat (21 digs) and Amy Wehrs (33 kills). Setter Kara Wehrs finished with 67 assists and 8 blocks.

"This was a great tournament for us," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse. "The girls came out and played extremely well."

Westminster Christian at Somonauk: Westminster Christian (1-5) competed in the Somonauk Invitational where the Warriors dropped games to Somonauk (25, 19, 25-23), Herscher (25-11, 25-11) and Genoa-Kingston (25-17, 25-17.

Despite the losses, head coach Guy Lum was impressed with middle hitters Abby Stevenson and Lindsay Burket, and also got good hitting and defense from right side hitter Jessica Benson.

"We did much better at this tournament this year than we did last year scoring a lot more points," said Lum.

South Elgin at West Aurora Invitational: South Elgin (2-4) walked away from the West Aurora Invitational defeating host West Aurora 25-23, 25-23 and enduring losses to Minooka (25-18, 25-21), Streamwood (25-18, 25-19), Waubonsie Valley (25-15, 25-15) and Sycamore (25-11, 25-13).

Offensive and defensive leaders for the Storm included Christie Cortese (6 kills, 17 digs), Alyssa Krause (12 kills), Hayley Bradley (13 kills), Genevieve Johnson (2 kills, 44 digs), Tara Bradley (18 digs) and Alexa Kruel (10 kills, 10 digs, 17 assists).

CL South at West Aurora: Behind key play from Caitlin Schumacher (18 kills, 18 digs), Erin Johnson (17 kills, 15 blocks), Morgan Kilberger (15 kills, 11 blocks) and Jordan Guida (61 assists), Crystal Lake South (4-2) recorded fifth-place honors at the West Aurora Tournament.

The Gators lost to tournament champion Naperville North (25-16, 25-22) and Rosary (25-12, 25-20) before defeating Barrington (25-16, 25-19) and Batavia 25-19, 25-14.

Huntley at Plainfield North Invite: Huntley (3-3) picked up its first three wins of the season en route to a championship title in the Bronze division of the Plainfield North Tournament. The Red Raiders first defeated Oswego East 25-20, 25-12 followed by a 25-7, 25-12 Oswego before concluding tournament action with a 27-25, 25-21 win over Plainfield Central.

Team leaders included Toni Jaehnig (14 kills, 6 aces), Krissy Bergquist (23 kills, 8 aces, 22 digs) and Taylor Karns (28 digs, 3 aces). Allyson Stellmach added 13 digs and 10 kills).