Prairie Ridge tops Crystal Lake South, wins 1st sectional title since 2018

CRYSTAL LAKE – Prairie Ridge sophomore outside hitter Maizy Agnello slammed home her match-high 16th kill against Crystal Lake South on a crosscourt shot, and the celebration was on in front of a rowdy and split crowd at Gator Alley.

The top-seeded Wolves defeated their crosstown rivals 25-15, 25-21 Thursday for the third time this year to win the Class 3A Crystal Lake South Sectional final and give Prairie Ridge its first sectional crown since 2018.

[ Photos: Crystal Lake South vs. Prairie Ridge volleyball  ]

“All the four years I’ve been here, we’ve been working for this moment,” said senior libero Alli Rogers, whose Wolves lost in a sectional final last fall. “We’ve been saying since Day 1, ‘Make the most of the postseason.’

“It’s an unreal feeling.”

The top-seeded Wolves (26-13) have won 12 consecutive sets and will meet No. 2 St. Francis, which beat No. 1 Wheaton Academy 26-24, 25-20 in Thursday’s St. Viator Sectional final, in the Grayslake Central Supersectional at 6 p.m. Monday.

The winner will move on to the state tournament at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena beginning Friday, Nov. 15. Prairie Ridge last went to state in 2018, taking fourth in 4A.

“It’s unbelievable, we’re still going,” said Agnello, who finished with a double-double, adding 10 digs. “We can go as far as we think we can. This is definitely one of the biggest crowds and I think that fuels our team, especially at the service line. They’re screaming at us, so we’re going to be aggressive.”

Prairie Ridge, which went a combined 5-0 against Crystal Lake South and Crystal Lake Central this season, was stuck in neutral against the Gators early on and didn’t take its first lead until 12-11. Later tied at 14, the Wolves took off.

Prairie Ridge finished the first set on an 11-1 run, with Rogers serving nine straight points after a kill by junior Abby Smith. Agnello, as she also did in the second set, ended the first set with a kill – this time from the back row.

South coach Annie Moore felt the combination of Agnello and senior setter Grace Jansen (14 assists, four digs, two aces) was too much to handle.

“Maizy, she is a force to be reckoned with,” Moore said. “She can hit out of anywhere. And Grace, she does a fantastic job. It’s really easy to scout some teams, but they’re hard to scout because Grace is so smart. She’s running one ball one play and then she’s running something completely different. How smart she is and having an offensive threat like Maizy, that’s tough. It’s hard to read.”

Tied at 19 in the second set, the Wolves again closed strong with a 6-2 run. Sophomore Tegan Vrbancic had consecutive points with a kill and an ace to give her team a 21-20 lead, while Agnello scored four of the matches’ final five points.

“I don’t think the day could have gone any longer,” said Prairie Ridge coach Hilary Agnello, Maizy’s mother. “It feels amazing. I’m now sweating because the stress is coming out, but it’s awesome. This group of kids, my coaches, it’s just really been a blast.”

Despite already beating South twice this year, the Wolves weren’t expecting anything to come easy, especially on the Gators’ home court.

“If you’ve beaten them twice, you’ve just got to prove it again,” Vrbancic said. “As soon as we got on runs, we just wanted to keep going.”

Rogers recorded a team-high 12 digs and two aces for Prairie Ridge, Addi Smith added nine assists, and Vrbancic and Julia Reina had seven digs apiece. Abby Smith tallied four kills, and Jada Hoyt led the team with four blocks.

The Gators were led offensively by sophomore Bobbi Wire with 11 kills and seven digs. Senior Morgan Johnson had eight kills, eight digs and two aces; senior setter Olivia Apt added 20 assists and 17 digs; Maddy Cook had eight digs; and Laken LePage added six.

South (14-24) was playing in its first sectional championship since 2015, with its last sectional title in 2014.

Last week, the Gators beat Crystal Lake Central in three sets for their first regional title since 2021.

“The team a few years ago [South’s 2021 team that finished 31-6] were the talk of the town, and they didn’t make it this far,” Moore said. “It’s really a testament to their heart and their drive and their desire to win. I’m so proud of them for never giving up. Every single game this season we had a fight.”

Johnson is one of four seniors on South, along with Apt, Kendall Brandt and Ellesse Sain. She believes the sky is the limit for those players coming back next year.

“I think the potential for this team is very high, considering how far we went,” Johnson said. Our [Fox Valley Conference] record was not very good. We had a very rocky season ... but seeing how we can do in postseason I think should excite the younger players. They can go out and make it as far as we did.”