Volleyball: Defense shines for Prairie Ridge in FVC win against Crystal Lake Central

CRYSTAL LAKE – Prairie Ridge defeated Crystal Lake Central in three sets for a Class 3A regional championship last season, so the Wolves were expecting to see the Tigers a little angry and at the top of their game Thursday.

“I was really nervous, but we all felt the energy,” Prairie Ridge junior setter Grace Jansen said. “We were really excited to play Central again. We were kind of expecting them to be fired up, and they were.

“We just had to bring our energy up to 1,000.”

After the Tigers took the first set, the Wolves turned it on defensively and rallied for a 23-25, 25-20, 25-21 Fox Valley Conference win at Central’s Fieldhouse.

The Wolves (6-5, 6-2 FVC) had four players reach double digits in digs, led by Jansen (21 assists) with 13, Tegan Vrbancic and Julia Reina with 11 apiece and Alli Rogers with 10.

Before the match, the Tigers celebrated their 2007 Class 3A state title team that finished a perfect 42-0 under the late Doug Blundy. A handful of assistant coaches and players from that team were on hand and introduced before the match.

“I was a little nervous at the start,” Prairie Ridge coach Stefanie Otto said. “But our defense really picked it up. They were falling over a lot early, then they started to read a lot better and stay on their feet. [Central] had their band playing and all these extra people here, too, so that really elevates things a lot.

“Always when you play a crosstown rival, you’re going to expect a match like that.”

Central and Prairie Ridge were tied at 19 in the third set before a 3-0 run by the Wolves, which included kills from Addison Gertz and Mackenzie Schmidt.

After a kill from Central’s Vivian Akalaonu made it 22-20, the Wolves scored three of the final four points for the win. Prairie Ridge got a kill from Adeline Grider, an ace from Rogers and a match-winning kill from Ashley Stiefer.

“We were really excited to play Central again. We were kind of expecting them to be fired up, and they were. We just had to bring our energy up to 1,000.”

—  Grace Jansen, Prairie Ridge junior setter

Grider, a freshman, had a strong finish with five kills.

“I think Grider played extremely well on the right side,” Otto said. “I was really proud of her. Towards the end of the second set, we started serving it a little better. We were serving right at them in the first set, and they were getting in system pretty easily.”

Grider had a blast in her first crosstown match against Central.

“It was super competitive and super-fast paced,” she said. “It just comes down to who wants it more, and I think we definitely wanted it more. It was a great environment. I was just looking to score some big points for my team. Literally demolish the ball and have some fun.”

Schmidt, a senior middle blocker, led the Wolves with nine kills, Gertz, a senior outside hitter, had seven kills, and Stiefer, a senior middle blocker, had four kills and three blocks. Freshman Maizy Agnello finished with six kills.

Central (9-5, 4-4) was led by junior Mykaela Wallen with eight kills and 12 digs, junior Siena Smiejek with eight kills, 10 digs and five blocks, and junior Gabbie Anderson with 26 assists and two aces.

Tigers coach Amy Johnson was impressed with Wolves offense.

“We know they have a great setter in Grace Jansen, she’s super competitive,” Johnson said. “They have two really good middles that run behind a lot, which we don’t see a lot in our conference with all the slides they run. They have a pretty balanced attack. We did work on a lot of blocking this week, but it didn’t really translate like we were hoping.”

Prairie Ridge was coming off two rough losses at the Wheaton Classic on Wednesday. Otto was curious to see how her team would respond.

“We’ve been very inconsistent, and last night we did not play well,” Otto said. “We still struggled at times in this match, but when they needed big plays, they made them. So I’m very proud of their fight and their grit tonight.”