Overmatched SC East exits postseason

Denied chance to defend state title

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November 8, 2009

By BRANDON MANGIA For Sun-Times Media

ST. CHARLES -- St. Charles East was simply overmatched in its super-sectional match against Cary-Grove on Saturday night.

In front of a packed home crowd and a vocal student section, the Saints saw their bid for a third straight trip downstate and a chance to defend its Class 4A state title come to an end with a 25-20, 25-13 defeat.

East (32-7), which started out its season by playing home games at Wredling Middle School because of a damaged gym floor and has dealt with injuries all season long, succumbed to the Trojans' power serving and dominant front row.

"They were unpredictable and made you earn every single point," East senior Jacqui Seidel said. "They definitely came well-prepared. They knew our tendencies and what we liked to do."

C-G (36-4) continually blocked kill attempts and slammed down kill opportunities of its own. Junior outside hitter Kelly Lamberti led the way with a match-high 14 kills.

"They run a quick offense and serve well," East coach Jennie Kull said. "They have the whole package. Because they're so experienced, they were able to exploit our weaknesses. They were throwing the ball at our weaknesses and that's the first time that's been done."

East took a 4-0 lead to start off the second set. But the Trojans later went on a 11-0 run, led by the jump serving of Colleen Smith, who had 10 straight service points during the run. Even an inspiring return from senior Caroline Niski during the middle of the set couldn't help East get things going. Niski, who has been used sparingly this postseason because of an ankle injury sustained over three weeks ago, returned at the request of Seidel, her teammate and best friend.

"I wanted to give her an opportunity to see if she could spark something and Jacqui asked for her too. She said 'I need some help,'" Kull said.

"As soon as Caroline came in every one started smiling," sophomore libero Maisey Mulvey said. "It was amazing."

Down 20-13 in the first set, the Saints rallied to cut the gap to 20-17. After a timeout, however, C-G scored four straight to put the set away. Sophomore Meghan Niski led East with five kills, while Seidel added four.

"They knew where to hit it, they knew our weak spots and they're an amazing team," Mulvey said. "We just tried to survive. That's all we tried to do is survive as long as we could."

The loss marked the final match for seniors Seidel, Caroline Niski and Aisha Tan.

"To be part of this tradition has been one of the most honorable, luckiest experiences of my life," Seidel said. "I couldn't ask for a better coach and teammates throughout the years. I'm just really sad that it's ending."

As bad as it hurt to see their season end, the Saints believe they lost to the future state champions.

"I think tonight their game was almost flawless," Kull said, echoing the same sentiments of her team. "That's a pretty amazing team and I'd be surprised if they don't win the state championship."