Lemont falls under St. Francis' spell

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WHEATON -- Too much firepower.

Behind 14 kills and four aces from senior outside hitter Kelsey Robinson, Wheaton St. Francis ended Lemont's season with a 25-16, 25-14 victory in the semifinals of the St. Francis Class 3A sectional Tuesday night.

The host Spartans (35-2) will play top-ranked Joliet Catholic Academy -- a 25-15, 25-16 winner over Rosary -- for the title at 7 p.m. on Thursday. JCA improved to 37-1.

Lemont, which finished the season 30-8, was making its fourth straight sectional appearance and sixth since 2001. The Indians lost in the title game the last two years. But being in such a loaded sectional the Indians weren't able to make it that far this season.

"It would be nice if we got a chance one time," Lemont coach Chris Zogata said. "It's been three years in a row now that we have to play the (top-ranked) teams here in the sectional."

A year ago JCA defeated Lemont 25-14, 25-15 for the sectional title at Crete-Monee. The Angels then edged St. Francis 25-23, 25-27, 25-21 to capture the Oswego super sectional en route to the Class 3A state championship.

But this season the IHSA put all three teams into the same sectional.

"I believe this Thursday night is the state final match," said Zogata, whose squad also lost to JCA 25-19, 25-20 in the sectional final in 2007. "Between Kelsey Robinson and (JCA all-state senior outside hitter) Annemarie Hickey, you have the two best players in the state right now.

"But it stinks for us. We keep getting stuck here while we could be at the Crete-Monee sectional. I think if we could get through a sectional one time, we could keep winning them."

Robinson showed her power right away as had six kills in the Spartans' match-opening 6-0 run. But Lemont regrouped and went on a 10-2 spurt to grab a 10-8 lead. Junior setter Vicki Wrobel (three digs, nine assists) helped get the run going with an ace. Junior outside hitter Courtney Keefe (team-high seven kills, eight digs) had a nice redirect kill and sophomore outside hitter Emily Brown (three kills) had a pair of kills in the burst.

But St. Francis answered back with a 6-1 run, fueled by a pair of aces from the hard-hitting, jump serving Robinson. The Indians crept back to 15-14 on an ace from junior middle hitter Danielle Susz. Then the Spartans retaliated with a 10-2 run to end game one.

Robinson, who stands 6 feet 1 and has committed to Tennessee, had her second facial kill of the game in the stretch. Lemont committed a pair of double-hit violations in the run, including on game point.

However, an ace from Wrobel opened the second set. A Spartan service error then gave Lemont its last lead at 2-1. From there, it was all St. Francis.

With the game tied at 3-3, sophomore middle blocker Daiva Wise (four kills) started the Spartans on 4-0 spurt, which included a pair of aces again by Robinson.

With St. Francis leading 10-6, Robinson rammed four more kills in a 10-0 blitz that gave the Spartans a 20-6 advantage.

Still, Keefe had a pair of kills and junior libero Melissa Bograd an ace as Lemont tried to battle back, cutting the large lead down to a respectable 23-13. But a kill from St. Francis junior outside hitter Meg Vonderhaar ended the match.

"The girls are not quitters," Zogata said. "They keep going and they want to win. But St. Francis has three girls a six foot or taller and we have a 5-7 middle (junior Becca Brabec), so it's hard to stop them.

"We actually did a good job blocking, better than I thought. But (St. Francis) has too much firepower."

The Indians, who have won three straight regional championships, only had three seniors on the roster. Starting outside hitter Megan Millinowisch and two defensive specialists, Lisa Donar and Danielle Maturo (three digs), both of whom sub in.

"I hate to lose the seniors, but there are a lot of juniors to carry the torch," Zogata said. "We're excited about all the returning players."

"It was our third straight 30 win season and really was still a successful season all-the-way around."