And just like that we're down to the final four teams going to state in each class of IHSA girls volleyball!!!
On Saturday it was one crazy day. We went to T.F. South to cover the Marist Redhawks taking on the Lyons Township Lions. It was the #2(Marist) and #3(Lyons) teams in the state. Marist was ranked 22nd in the nation by ESPN while Lyons was ranked 26th in the nation. Needless to say this was built up to be a championship type game. Marist had already beaten Lyons earlier in the year. But Lyons had one of their best players healthy and ready to go in this game in Alexis Viliunas as she had missed that match up earlier in the year.
The first game was as advertised as Lyons won 25-21. The key difference in game one was with Jocelyn Birks. She was an unstoppable force. Lyons was the very aggressive offensive team that keeps attacking a team trying to get them to break down on defense whereas Marist is a team that plays great defense and forces the offense to break down and make mistakes on offense. Something had to give and it was with the Redhawks defense. Birks, Laura Williams, Kelsey Keeve, and Viliunas were too much for the Redhawks. As they started breaking down on defense with poor passes, they were unable to get their offense rolling and that's how game 1 ended.
Game 2 was a continuation of the ending of game 1. It may have been the most dominating performance we've seen all year, and we've seen Cary-Grove play twice. Lyons won 25-10 and made a statement that they were back at state and better than last year when they took 2nd in state. They played a near perfect game. Three mistakes on serves going into the net and another one on a mishit but that was in in game 2. They have away four points and only had more scored on them. If Lyons plays like this on Friday in the Semi-Finals there is no stopping them. They have the best offense in the state when they're firing on all cylinders and can break down any defense.
Going into this game we thought that Marist had the best defense in the state. They showed that they still had a great defense, but there was nothing they could do in game 2. The defense still played well behind Libero and All-Star Caroline Niedospial. Ashley Holder played well at the net despite being a 5'8" setter. Courtney Collins was the best offensive weapon for the Redhawks but she didn't get enough chances during game 2. Mallory Salis played well too. Katie Krasowski (Smiley McGhee) and Lauren Zielinski also had their hands full at the net with Lyons front line and Gruesome Twosome in Birks and Viliunas. Marist and head coach Natalie Holder should hold their heads high as they finished the year at 37-3. They won the sectionals which is no easy feat. While they won't be going to state, they showed great class by congratulating the Lyons players after the game and after the handshakes. The Redhawks have a lot to look forward to next season and for the seniors we want to wish them the best of luck moving forward!
In the night cap down at Normal Community West High School, yes we made that long drive, the Hinsdale South Hornets took on the Edwardsville Tigers. First of all I want to thank the A.D. Stan Lewis of Normal West for the hospitality room! This was the first time in Volleyball that we've gotten that sort of treatment and we truly appreciate it! Hinsdale South had upset Hinsdale Central and Benet Academy to get to this point. Edwardsville we hadn't seen before but they had posted solid and consistent scores throughout the playoffs. Game one was 25-17 in favor of the Tigers. The key difference in game one was the unforced errors. The Hornets had 14 unforced errors compared to 7 on Edwardsville. Game 2 also went to Edwardsville as they won 25-20. Again the Hornets had more unforced errors.
Hinsdale South showed some great tenacity and poise throughout these playoffs as they were in tight games night after night. Danielle Romeo demonstrated some great senior leadership and offensive power. Jessica Brezwyn is a great offensive weapon, she didn't get enough touches though. Morgan Howard also played well at the net. For the Hornets this loss is heartbreaking as they were one win away from pulling off the true Cinderella journey of making it to state. That's nothing to be ashamed of, they were 33-7 on the year and still went home with a sectional title. Not an easy feat when only 8 teams in the state do that after everyone has a chance to. With only four seniors they have a lot to look forward to next year, and head coach Tina Martinez demonstrated that her players trust and believe in her system. Best of luck next season and to the seniors best of look in your future!
As for the victorious Tigers they were a pleasant surprise. Because we didn't get a chance to watch them this year, we weren't sure what to expect. Head Coach Jami Parker and her team showed us was consistent and mistake free volleyball looks like. They make few mistakes defensively and make even fewer mistakes on offense. With only 2 seniors on the roster it would be easy to write them off moving forward but Maddi Croft (Maddi Ice) is a great leader on the court and plays very well in the middle. Samantha Epenesa (Handy Sam) is a very dangerous outside hitter and all over the court on defense. Camrey Saye (a freshman) plays like she's an upperclassman and shouldn't be overlooked. Sarah Parker and Taylor Marshall are also two players that make their impact known on the court. If they continue to play consistent and make few mistakes, it'll be hard for any team to beat them. They keep their emotions in check as they are never too excited and never too frustrated. They stay level headed with is a testament to the job the coaching staff has done leading them downstate for the first time in school history! Best of luck downstate!
The other teams in 4A advancing downstate are the York Dukes and Cary-Grove Trojans. It should be a slobberknocker as Dr. Pete would say. But we won't just be covering the 4A state tournament. We're covering it all from 1-4A. All the semi-finals and the third place games AND of course the State Finals!!!
At 3A we'll see Payton take on Mater Dei and Joliet Catholic take on Marian.
At 2A we'll see Bloomington Central Catholic take on Breese Central and St. Teresa take on Chicago Christian.
At 1A we'll see Scales Mound take on Lutheran and Heyworth take on Cumberland.
And of course at 4A Lyons Township takes on York (Conference foes) and Edwardsville takes on defending state champs Cary-Grove.
It'll be a blast to cover and the madness continues next Friday from Illinois State University!
Stay tuned here for the latest updates concerning the IHSA Girl's volleyball playoffs and check SportsTownChicago.com to download all the games we've covered and the download the interviews we've conducted as well. There will be more new interviews up this week so be sure to check it daily to hear the newest content only on SportsTownChicago.com
See You At State!!!
Alex LoCicero (A-Lo)
