North beats Bartlett again, earns crack at East
By KEITH BEEBE – editorial@kcchronicle.com
ST. CHARLES – The tentative, cautious looks on the faces of the St. Charles North volleyball team before Saturday’s IHSA Class 4A St. Charles North Regional suggested the North Stars might struggle with the physical, aggressive Bartlett Hawks.
Looks can be deceiving.
After dropping the first game 25-17, North found its defensive rhythm, overcoming a dominating effort from Bartlett’s Carly Sahagian to take the next two games, 25-20 each. North’s strong net play – boosted early on in the second game by blocks from seniors Allie Van Dril and Karlie Giesler – proved to be the difference against the Hawks.
“They’re an intense team. We’ve played them three times this year and it’s been intense matches every single time,” North coach Lindsey Hawkins said. “You have to give them credit because their defense came to play today and Carly (Sahagian) offered us a lot of trouble.”
North advances to Tuesday’s Geneva Sectional semifinal against archrival St. Charles East.
Sahagian assailed North throughout the first game, getting good looks and recording kills on nearly every opportunity. North’s concerted effort to keep the ball away from Sahagian helped slow Bartlett’s offense, but the senior still finished with a gaudy 21 kills.
“We knew we were going to have to somehow stop her, get the ball and move it around and try to get our offense as complex as possible so that we would have a chance,” Hawkins said.
Van Dril’s three kills, three solo blocks and eight team blocks helped keep North get out to a big lead after being tied at 13 with Bartlett in the second game. Junior Katie Fuerst (two aces) and senior Jen Ask (three kills) also had solid performances.
“I thought that we played really well today,” Van Dril said. “In the first game, we were having some trouble playing as individuals, and then in the second game, we came together as a team and we got everything up. We knew it was one and done.”
North continued to use its size to bully Bartlett in the third game and never trailed. Bartlett narrowed North’s lead to 22-20, only to be snuffed out by several North blocks..
“I thought we played really well in the second game,” Bartlett coach Brendon Mueller said. “I think it was tied at 13, then we gave up five or six points in a row, and if you do that against a good team, it’s going to be hard to come back and finish.”
North (25-11) was given all it could handle in this title match, but relied on its strengths to earn the victory.
“They’re a tough team and we’re just really glad to be able to move on,” Hawkins said.
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