Girls volleyball: Crystal Lake Central, Prairie Ridge advance to Class 3A regional final

CRYSTAL LAKE – Prairie Ridge lost a tough three-set match to Crystal Lake South a week ago and wanted nothing more than to return the favor against their crosstown rivals Tuesday.

The Wolves did just that with a 25-14, 25-22 sweep against the Gators in their Class 3A Crystal Lake South Regional semifinal.

Now, Prairie Ridge will get one more shot at a familiar foe.

The No. 5-seeded Wolves (15-21) advance to play No. 2-seeded Crystal Lake Central for the championship at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Tigers defeated Belvidere 25-17, 25-14 in the first semifinal, setting up another showdown between Fox Valley Conference rivals.

“It really motivated us this game because we were so close with them before,” Wolves sophomore setter Grace Jansen said. “I think that really helped us come together as a team, especially because this could have been our last game. ... I am so excited, especially to play Central again. We really want to beat them.”

Prairie Ridge and No. 3-seeded Crystal Lake South (24-11) battled throughout a close second set, with neither team able to pull away until late.

After the Gators cut Prairie Ridge’s lead to 19-18, the Wolves went on a 5-3 run to take a 24-21 lead. A front-row kill by Amelia Bowen put the finishing touches on the victory.

“They all played so well. They all played as a group, and it’s been really hard because we’ve had so much sickness,” Wolves coach Stefanie Otto said. “We have not had the same lineup or team for two weeks. I just thought they showed a lot of grit. They made shots, adjusted when we saw [South’s] defense adjust ... and the kids were very aware of where [South’s] players were on the court.”

Prairie Ridge was led by Katya Flaugher with 12 kills and eight digs and Mackenzie Schmidt with six kills and three blocks. Jansen recorded 14 assists, nine digs and two aces. Maya Breseman had nine digs and Brielle Schulze had seven digs on defense, where Gators coach Annie Moore thought the Wolves were at their best.

“I don’t think they let a single ball hit the floor,” Moore said. “And even when they shanked a ball, they had all five players chasing it down. A lot of long rallies, and they just won a majority of them.”

South was led by Emma Stowasser with 18 assists and six digs, Morgan Johnson with nine kills and eight digs and Gabby Wire with seven kills and six digs. Laken LePage had a team-high 12 digs, Kaitlyn Brandt had six digs and Olivia Christopher had an ace.

Stowasser, Brandt and Christopher were the Gators’ only three seniors.

“I just told them, there was never a day I dreaded coming to practice or coming to a game,” Moore said. “They always had a smile on their face, and even having a bad day or good day, I knew I was always going to be greeted with 16, 17 smiling faces and goofy comments to tell me about their day.”

In the first semifinal, Crystal Lake Central coach Amy Johnson felt her team did a good job of staying in control of its emotions. Down 8-7 in the first set, the Tigers went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. In the second, Central used a 13-4 run to take a 20-12 lead.

”It’s expected with such a young team to not have at least a little jitters, and we were playing them point for point for a while,” Johnson said. “But at no point did I feel like we weren’t in control.”

Bree Hubacher led the Tigers with 11 kills and eight digs, Siena Smiejek had seven kills and three blocks, and Gabbie Anderson had 24 assists. Maddie Anderson added 11 digs.

Johnson felt Smiejek played a key role in the middle. Most of her kills and points came during a dominant first set.

”She’s just been so consistent and dependable for us as a middle,” Johnson said. “It’s a hard position to be in, especially as a sophomore. She’s just been a consistent force for us in the middle, which is huge.”

The Tigers (21-15) and Wolves split their two regular-season matches during the season. Both are now looking forward to a rematch.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Johnson said. “It’s always nice to go against a sister school. It’s the postseason. You have to get through everyone eventually.”