Girls volleyball: Prairie Ridge defeats Crystal Lake Central to capture Class 3A regional championship

CRYSTAL LAKE – Prairie Ridge struggled to find a consistent lineup throughout the regular season because of injuries and illness.

Thursday’s Class 3A Crystal Lake South Regional final against Crystal Lake Central felt like one of the few times the Wolves were firing on all cylinders.

Prairie Ridge defeated their crosstown rivals 25-12, 24-26, 25-17 to win the regional championship, giving the Wolves their first postseason title since 2018.

Central, a No. 2 seed, was trying to win its first regional title in three years.

The No. 5-seeded Wolves will next face top-seeded Kaneland in a Burlington Central Sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. Monday. Woodstock North (No. 1) and St. Francis (No. 2) will meet in the first semifinal.

“It’s a very special group of girls and I’m so happy for them,” Prairie Ridge coach Stefanie Otto said. “They really pulled together. You can tell they really enjoy playing together the way they came out tonight. They played such great defense and I’m just super proud of them all.”

Senior outside hitter Katya Flaugher led the Wolves’ offense with a match-high 20 kills and 11 digs. She had 11 kills during the second set alone.

Prairie Ridge and Central split their two regular-season meetings, with the Tigers winning the last match on Oct. 20.

Beating a crosstown rival made Thursday’s win much more special.

“It just feels so great, especially to do it against Crystal Lake Central,” Flaugher said. “We’ve all been sick, we’ve all been injured. We haven’t had a full practice in I can’t remember how long. ... It’s just great to have it pay off. We weren’t successful during the [Fox Valley Conference] season, so it feels great to get this win.”

The Wolves (16-21) controlled the pace and rhythm of the first set, collecting four aces against the Tigers (21-16). In the second, freshman Anna Starr had a block to give the Tigers a 22-21 lead. Tied at 24, Siena Smiejek had back-to-back points on a kill and ace to force a third.

Central and Prairie Ridge were tied at 11 in the third set before the Wolves took control with a 9-2 run for a 20-13 lead. Flaugher, Aubrie Held, Ashley Stiefer and Mackenzie Schmidt each recorded points for Prairie Ridge during the match-deciding run.

Otto felt the Wolves’ scrappy defense was a big difference in the match. She lauded the play of setters Grace Jansen (18 assists, 13 digs) and Julia Reina (12 assists, two aces), along with Brielle Schulze (10 digs, two aces).

“They were hungry, they were aggressive and they went after it,” Otto said of the Wolves. “Their serving was phenomenal. They didn’t get rattled when they made a mistake. We got a little timid in the second set and Central got more aggressive. In the third, we regrouped and put a little more pressure on them.”

Flaugher stepped up in the match’s biggest moments.

“She’s the hammer,” Otto said. “She reads the court so well and finds ways to score at the most important times of the match.”

Central was led by Bree Hubacher with six kills and 11 digs, Gabbie Anderson with 17 assists and nine digs, and Mykaela Wallen with 16 digs. Smiejak had four kills and Starr had four kills and two blocks.

“The first set was uncharacteristic of our team,” Tigers coach Amy Johnson said. “The fact that we came back and won that second set, I think it showed a lot of mental toughness. PR came out and was killing it on every level.”

Johnson was proud of her team for coming back and forcing a third set after a slow start. Hubacher and Maddie Anderson are the team’s only two seniors.

“This is the first time that a lot of them have been in a big game like this,” Johnson said. “This group is amazing in every way. Great young women, great athletes, and it was a joy and a pleasure to coach them.”

Flaugher and the Wolves will try to win their first sectional title since 2018. That year, Prairie Ridge took fourth at the Class 4A state tournament.

“I’m so proud of our team,” Flaugher said. “We had so much energy. We’ve worked so hard and we finally got a win out of it.”