Loud and clear

Rosary players Amy Kus (left) and Lindsey Weber block a Glenbard South spike attempt during a sectional semifinal Tuesday at Nazareth Academy.
PHOTOS BY Kate Dougherty / Special to the beacon news

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LAGRANGE PARK -- This time they were ready.

A day after being sent from the gym and told to take a timeout to regroup and refocus, Rosary's girls volleyball players did just that and cruised to a 25-8, 25-20 victory over third-seeded Glenbard South in their Class 3A Nazareth Academy Sectional semfinal Tuesday.

"They were a little sluggish at the beginning of practice (on Monday)," Royals coach Lisa Kasper said. "Their focus wasn't there as it needs to be at this time of year. They came out and were focused tonight."

Now they need to maintain it, because the win sends the second-seeded Royals (28-10) to the title match at 7 p.m. Thursday against top-seeded St. Francis, their Suburban Catholic Conference nemesis.

The Spartans (31-7) advanced with a 25-21, 25-12 win over fourth-seeded Riverside-Brookfield in Tuesday's first semifinal.

Rosary and St. Francis split a pair of SCC matches this season, with each team winning on its home floor.

"This will be the tiebreaker," said Rosary senior outside hitter Lindsey Weber, who led the Royals with seven kills Tuesday. "We took our timeout (Monday), got it together and refocused. We've got to stay focused in practice (today). We'll be ready for them Thursday."

An error-prone Glenbard South squad wasn't ready Monday and closed its season at 24-14.

Rosary boosted its 7-5 lead in the opening game to 15-5, thanks to an eight-point service run by Lauren Buckley that featured three aces. The Royals finished with seven aces in the game, and the Raiders managed just one point off their own serve in the opening set.

The second game was much tighter, featuring nine ties before Rosary finally broke away from a 20-19 lead to a 23-19 edge thanks to three straight Glenbard South errors.

Raiders coach Sherry Hudson took a timeout and senior Amanda Fisch responded with a kill to cut the gap to 23-20, but it was too little, too late. A Glenbard South service error was followed by a tip kill from Weber for match point.

"We had 22 errors in the second game and were still in it," said a frustrated Hudson, whose team won the school's first regional title since 1998. "If we play our game, I would have liked to see what kind of match it could have been. But give Rosary credit, they were extremely consistent.

"It wasn't for lack of effort; it just wasn't our night."

Weber's younger sister, Emily, added five kills and Kelly Hogan had three. The Royals got seven digs from Haley Norris, 10 assists from Lindsay Juriga and five assists from Karen Matic. Lindsey Weber added five digs.

In the night's first semifinal, St. Francis spotted the Bulldogs a 6-1 lead in the opening set before coming back strong. Junior outside hitter Kelsey Robinson led the way with 11 kills and nine blocks.

"I think their defense was phenomenal in the first game," St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. "They were digging everything." Girls Volleyball: Class 3A Nazareth Sectional