South Elgin goes out in a winning way

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November 4, 2009

By BRANDON MANGIA For Sun-Times Media

HUNTLEY -- South Elgin was realistic heading into its volleyball match against Cary-Grove on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Huntley Class 4A Regional.

The Storm was aware of the Trojans' 30-plus win total and all-around talent and knew it would take a miraculous effort to come away victorious. With that in mind, if South Elgin was going to see its season come to an end, it wanted to do so by leaving it all on the court, and the Storm did just that in a 25-15, 25-14 defeat.

"We gave it our all," said senior middle blocker Alyssa Krause. "We wanted to make sure we had fun. That's the most important thing, and we wanted to get to at least 15 points and we did. We had some plays that were good for us so that's all you can ask for."

When South Elgin (15-19-1) started out its season at 3-14, a spot in the sectional semifinals seemed far fetched, but a talented and close group of seniors -- Krause, Sarah Havemann, Amber Schnecke and Emily Hattendorf -- led the way to a 12-5 record to close out the season and the program's first-ever regional title.

"The seniors this year, they play a huge part not only because of their skill but their camaraderie for the team and showing the girls what it really means to be a team" said Storm coach Joni Melahn. "I think we got this far because they really enjoy each other's company."

Down 21-10, Krause recorded two of her team-high four kills as part of a 5-0 run before C-G (34-4) put the set away.

The Trojans scored the first six points of the second set, but South Elgin made sure to stay aggressive later in the set.

"I told the girls in the last timeout to go out swinging," Melahn said. "I didn't want us to go out with them acing us. I wanted us to go out swinging and we did that."

Huntley d. Rockford Boylan -- In the second semifinal match of the night, Huntley used a disciplined defense and timely scoring spurts to defeat Rockford Boylan 26-24, 25-19.

The Red Raiders (29-9) will face C-G in Thursday's title match, marking the second straight season Huntley has advanced to the sectional finals.

In front of a large home crowd, Huntley -- which features three sophomore starters -- rallied from a 23-20 deficit in the first set to tie it at 23. A net violation gave Boylan (23-11) set-point at 24-23, but Ashley Smith again bailed out the Raiders by recording another kill as Huntley went on to score the final three points for the win. Smith ended her night with a team-high eight kills.

Each team saw drastic momentum shifts in the second set.

A Boylan four-point run tied the set at 19, but the last rally belonged to Huntley as it went on a 6-0 run to close out the match, capped by an ace from Amanda Carroll.

"We have our moments," said Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski. "We get a big lead then let the team come back. We don't seem to play until its 19-19, but this team has a lot of heart and emotion."

Amy Dion had 17 digs for Huntley. Jaina Jackson, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, had six kills and Carroll had 22 assists.

Jakubowski is a big believer in home court advantage and was more than happy with what she saw.

"It's awesome to see all of that," Jakubowski said, pointing to the crowd. "I'm pretty impressed."