JOLIET — When the Morris Redskins won their Class 3A regional opener against host Manteno, junior setter Katie Chatten said that the ultimate goal would be to win a sectional game. After winning their second consecutive regional championship against Lincoln-Way West, the 'Skins got an opportunity to meet that goal on Tuesday night against Wheaton St. Francis on the campus of Joliet Catholic Academy.
Unfortunately for the Redskins, they would wind up falling short of their designated goal, as they were swept by St. Francis 25-10, 25-17.
St. Francis will move on to play against Joliet Catholic Academy. Morris, on the other hand, was left to reflect on what amounted to an impressive rebound season after failing to win a Northern Illinois Big 12 East conference game in 2010.
"It's been amazing," Morris coach Jackie Litwiller said of the Redskins season. "We were able to go undefeated at home, we beat DeKalb, and we were the only team to do that in our conference, we won a tournament, we won regionals, and we finished above .500 (in conference.) Going .500 was our goal all season long, so to get to this moment has been such a ride. I feel bad for the seniors (Natalie Polson, Alyssa Sajnaj, and Morgan Feeney) because they're done, and that's not how they wanted to end, but hopefully we'll keep building and growing and learning."
One of those seniors, libero Natalie Polson, was saddened by the loss to St. Francis, but viewed the Redskins progress as a program as an overall success on the year.
"I'm really excited and I'm happy that I've got to be part of this program," Polson said. "It's only going up from here, and I am one of the beginners of a successful Morris volleyball team. St. Francis had a good set of girls who all played together, and they were just better tonight, but we tried and we did what we could so I'm happy."
On the game, Polson would finish with seven serve receptions and two digs, while junior outside hitter Kendall Korte would pace the Redskins attack with 10 digs and seven kills. Setter Katie Chatten would finish the night with 14 assists, and sophomore Austin Thompson and junior Marcella Toups would both added two kills apiece.
"It stinks that it had to end this way, but I'm so proud," Korte said of the Redskins loss. "(The team) just went through a whole list of accomplishments that we did that was just so good, and we can't hang our head."
The Redskins have finished the year with a 23-13-1 record, and the strides they've made as a program were a point of emphasis from Polson, Korte, and Coach Litwiller. The Redskins also won their second straight regional championship, and that's not something that Coach Litwiller is taking lightly.
"(St. Francis) was a great team, and I hope I see them playing next Saturday (in the state championship.) But I'm proud, we won back-to-back regionals and that doesn't happen very often," she said. "The Kaneland coach, Todd (Weimer), he sent over a little note to the girls mentioning that hasn't even happened in Kaneland in a long time and telling them to take that and run with it."
Overall, the Redskins had a lot to be pleased about, but Kendall Korte hopes that this is the start of something special in Morris.
"I think we just gotta go harder — harder practices and higher goals and working hard. (Success) will come if we continue to work hard," Korte said.
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