CARPENTERSVILLE – The DeKalb girls volleyball team saw their playoff run come to an end when fell to the Stevenson Patriots in straight sets, 25-21, 25-22, in the Class 4A Dundee-Crown Super Sectional on Saturday.
The DeKalb attack was hindered by a strong Patriots block. Although the Patriots were able to keep the DeKalb attack at bay for most of the day, Barbs coach Jamie DiMaggio made an in-game adjustment to move outside hitter Hannah Oehlberg to the back row, opening up her opportunities to strike.
“Hannah had been unstoppable the last couple of games,” DiMaggio said. “JC [Longeville] had done a nice job of getting her in rhythm and she knows where the ball is coming from when she passes it. We worked on the back row attack at practice and it did end up working for us today.”
Oehlberg had 18 kills on the day for the Barbs. Oehlberg gave the Stevenson block credit for their activity in front of the net.
“They were getting a lot of good touches in front of the net,” Oehlberg said. “I told JC to set me up further inside so I could try to hit around them. They picked up a lot of what we were doing. Coach [DiMaggio] had us working all week on back row attacks so we were ready to do that in a tight situation.”
Setter and outgoing senior Longeville had 26 assists in the losing effort for the Barbs. Animated and emotional, Longeville talked about what her time at DeKalb has meant to her.
“I wouldn’t change anything we did in the postseason,” Longeville said. “I think we really came together and got better. I hope that next season, the girls who are returning enjoy every second of it because it goes by so fast. Being a Barb is incredible. I love this team.”
DiMaggio summed up this season as one that took her team on a path of team-building and confidence. She also spoke glowingly of her first senior class as a head coach.
“Being a rookie varsity head coach, I couldn’t have asked for a better senior class,” DiMaggio said. “The first week of camp this summer, they didn’t have a coach. I came in and those seniors were running the camp themselves. They helped me run the program. I’m sad to see them go, but they left a big impression on our girls who will be back next season. I thought we were this good all along. I don’t think the girls knew that they were this good until we were approaching the end of the year. It took a while for their confidence to be where it needed to be but once it did, we rolled.”
Senior libero Abby Boyden had 11 digs for the match and junior middle blocker Jasmine Kemp pitched in eight kills for the Barbs as well.
Stevenson (33-7) had a very difficult path to the state championships. Along the way, they had a three-set win over Lake Forest, which won 33 games, as well as Libertyville, a 27-win team led by all-area setter Anna Lillydahl. Coach Tim Crow said he feels good about the process and his team’s chances at state.
“I am really excited for the girls,” Crow said. “We experienced some adversity in the middle of the year, dropping four in a row. I think that refocused us. We will have film on our opponent so we’ll break that down and come up with a game plan.”
Patriots senior outside hitter Jori Radtke, who plans on playing for Northern Illinois next season, said that advance scouting gave Stevenson an edge.
“We knew the two players we had to stop,” Radtke said. “We worked in practice on how to stop the A, which is the middle front and the four, who is the outside hitter. I can’t even describe what a state title would mean to me. With all the work I’ve put into my game and everything we have done for the school, it would really wrap things up nicely.”