The girls volleyball teams from Rosary and host Illinois Math and Science Academy reached the same destination Thursday -- they just took different paths.
The second-seeded Royals cruised past overmatched No. 15 15 seed Little Village 25-7, 25-8 to advance to Saturday's 7 p.m. final of the Class 3A IMSA Regional.
The Phoenix had opened the evening's action by defeating No. 18 North Lawndale 25-20, 25-16 to draw Rosary.
The seventh-seeded Titans also advanced, but took a more circuitous route, 25-13, 23-25, 25-11 over 12th-seeded Fenton.
"It was good because everybody was able to get in," Rosary coach Lisa Kasper said. "It was a nice way to start the playoffs after a week layoff, without much stress. It could be like Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley having to play in the first round.
"And give (Little Village) credit. They at least tried. We had a similar match in the first round last year and there was a girl on the other team standing out there with her arms folded."
The win lifts the Royals, who had 10 service aces in each game, to 26-10.
Enough said.
IMSA started like its match would be a similar cakewalk. After senior outside hitter Niki Evans' spike for a kill off Fenton's opening serve, sophomore Jessica Munro proceeded to reel off 10 straight points, five of them aces, to give the Titans an 11-0 lead.
Fenton struggled mightily with its serve-receive.
The second game was a different story, as the Titans suddenly started matching the Bison error for error as the score seesawed back and forth.
"We always have these up and down matches," said junior setter Jenny Chen (29 assists). "We had a lot of fun the first game. The second game, not so much."
In the third game the Titans got back to business quickly, opening up a 4-0 lead on three straight aces from sophomore Justine Ly and a kill by senior Lindsey Schobert.
IMSA boosted its advantage to 8-1 on a Jenny Roderick kill and the Bison got no closer than three the rest of the way.
"We had confidence going in," IMSA coach Linsey Crowninshield said. "We had seen them before in the third game of the season at the Geneva tournament and beat them. We're both better teams; we both improved a lot over the course of the season.
"The girls walked in confident. They put the ball down. They earn their plays and they looked good."
So what happened in the second game?
"If I knew how to explain it, then I could fix it," Crowninshield said. "Fenton was scrappy, but I've seen us pack a lot more power (than in the second game)."
Roderick finished the night with 11 kills and four blocks. Evans had eight kills and seven digs and Ly added six kills and 16 digs.
Munro, who finished with seven aces in her 20 service points, closed the final game like she opened the first, with a five-point run.
Now Rosary awaits.
"We're excited to play them," Chen said. "We play better when we play better teams."
Crowninshield said her players need to believe in themselves.
"We've come from being a 16 or 17 seed (in regionals) to being a 5 through 7 and I'm really proud of them," she said. "They just need to believe it." Girls Volleyball: IMSA Regional Semifinals
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