PREP ZONE: Chargers have coach on their mind after scare

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Today’s regional championship match against rival Rosary should carry enormous emotional impact for the Aurora Central Catholic girls volleyball program.

Considering the kind of week it has been, it barely registers.

Jeanne Czipri, ACC’s highly respected, first-year head coach, likely will miss the Chargers’ second straight postseason match after a harrowing fall suffered on Monday morning. Czipri said she hit her head during a work-related meeting in Naperville; she then passed out and suffered serious head injuries, including a brain hemorrhage and some slight swelling around the brain.

Czipri is resting at home in Aurora after spending three days at Edward Hospital in Naperville.

She was up to talking on the phone on Friday.

“I’m functional. I’m OK. I’m just held back,” Czipri said.

What she’d really like to do is watch her Chargers vie for a regional championship – or better yet, coach.

“My first, initial reaction was this is really bad timing,” said Czipri, a 24-year-old substitute teacher. “I have a team that’s capable of winning regionals and sectionals and I’m not there. That’s the first thing that I thought of. My health was not my concern, it was my team. Most people think I’m crazy for that but that’s really how it was.”

In Czipri’s absence, several ACC assistant coaches are running the show, led by volunteer varsity coach Chad Christensen. Betty Chandler and Erin Frank also are taking increased roles for the Chargers, who whipped Lincoln-Way West in the regional semifinals Thursday.

Czipri yearns to attend the Rosary showdown, but doctors and her mother, Mary Czipri, are urging caution. Becoming overstimulated could prompt a major setback.

“I like to be in control, and she’s doing a great job of stepping in and putting me in my place,” Czipri said of her mother.

Under Czipri, ACC has enjoyed the biggest resurgence of any program in the area. ACC has more than doubled its win total from last season and won the Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division.

“She is one of the better coaches I’ve had the privilege of working with in my career,” ACC athletic director Michael Armato said. “Her wisdom far exceeds her age when it comes to volleyball and how to handle herself on the court and how to teach kids. She’s a unique and blessed individual to have that ability.”

ACC players were among Czipri’s visitors at the hospital. There’s no doubt their coach will be at the forefront of the Chargers’ minds today, whether she is in attendance or not.

“Fortunately our kids have very strong character,” Armato said. “They’re great young ladies. I think that really shows what Jeanne has taught them, not only on the court but off the court – how to persevere and overcome adversity. They’re in a situation now where they have to battle through some things.”

Saints still snakebitten: The obstacles keep mounting for the defending 4A state champion St. Charles East girls volleyball team.

Jacqui Seidel, one of the team’s senior captains, sprained an ankle Wednesday in the last drill of the last practice leading up to regionals. She missed the Saints’ win against Glenbard East in Thursday’s Schaumburg Regional semifinal, and her return is uncertain the rest of the way.

This on the heels of East’s other Division I-bound senior, Caroline Niski, also spraining an ankle the week before. Niski faces a similarly murky status for the postseason.

Throw in the school’s recent closure due to illness and East’s gym being unavailable for the first half of the season, and it’s been a trying season for the Saints.

“I guess the good news is that they’re pretty resilient,” East coach Jennie Kull said. “They’ve had a lot of things go on. They’re not afraid of change. When it’s all said and done, I guess that’s the good news.”

East’s lineup becomes even younger without Seidel. The Saints, the top seed in the Geneva Sectional, will seek greater contributions up front from sophomores Nichole Lambert, Kathleen Dailey and Meghan Niski and junior Olivia Desormey in today’s regional title match against Willowbrook, which staged a furious rally to knock out Elk Grove Village on Thursday.

• Jay Schwab is sports editor of The Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5382 or jschwab@kcchronicle.com.

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