Holthus, Turk guide Rockets past semis

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SYCAMORE -- There are no style points in the postseason -- a win's a win.

Burlington Central understood that on Thursday night when it battled Kaneland to a 25-14, 22-25, 25-13 win in the semifinals of the Sycamore Class 3A Volleyball Regional.

The Rockets came out on fire in Game 1 before unforced errors and miscommunication forced a deciding Game 3, and that's when Central regained its dominant form and came through victorious.

With the win, the second-seeded Rockets (30-6) advance to the title match at 6 p.m. Saturday where they will meet the top-seeded host Spartans.

"There's a lot of momentum in the game of volleyball and they got on a ride and I think in the state tournament you have to play through those nerves a little bit," said Central coach Marv Leavitt.

"I was pleased that we were able to play in a third game and get that behind us already where you're facing your last game of the season. I think that gave us a good bonus right there."

The Rockets came out and played aggressively in the third game after a lackluster Game 2.

Central had a steady lead throughout the final game and took a 13-5 advantage after senior setter Molly Turk connected on one of her 11 spike-kills.

Later, three straight Stephanie Holthus kills took the air out of the Knights (13-21) and gave Central a 23-11 lead.

Turk ended her night with 21 assists, six aces and six digs, while Holthus had a game-high 20 kills with three aces and nine digs.

"Molly did a great job of running and, of course, Holthus did a great job of hitting," Leavitt said. "It was a team effort. Everyone contributed out there."

Central looked to quickly wrap things up in Game 1 as Turk started the game with seven straights service points, including two aces, to give her team an early 8-0 lead.

"I came out and tried to be aggressive and it went my way," Turk said.

"Our defense did a great job digging up everything and getting it back over. Our defense was really strong in the first game."

Meghan Zasada also came up with four of her 11 digs in Game 1 and put the game at match point when she recorded her second of five kills on the night.

The Rockets had communication problems in Game 2, while the Knights found success blocking.

Kaneland held a lead through much of the game thanks to 11 Rockets' unforced errors. The Rockets, however, regrouped before the start of Game 3 to win the match.

"I guess we just laid back a little and thought we had it in the bag maybe," Turk said.

"But third game we came out and coach told us it doesn't matter if we win by two points or by 25 points, as long as you come out and get the win and that's what we did."