Class 4A girls volleyball: Joliet West, Bolingbrook to meet in regional championship

JOLIET — It didn’t take long for Joliet West to assert itself Tuesday in the first semifinal at the Class 4A Joliet West Regional.

The Tigers used three kills by Ava Grevengoed, two by Natalia Harris, and one by Gabby Piazza to fashion an 8-2 lead en route to a convincing 25-9, 25-12 win over Plainfield East.

Grevengoed led West (33-3), which set the program record for wins in a season, with 10 kills, while Piazza had six kills and four blocks in front of a partisan Joliet West crowd.

“There were a few nerves,” Piazza admitted. “We’re hosting the regional, it’s my senior year. I guess I was maybe more excited than nervous. But, once the match got started, we kind of settled in.

“We want to play with consistent energy and we did that tonight. We like to spread the ball around and get everyone involved. I am just trying to enjoy all of it while it’s going on. I don’t want to have the regret of not putting everything I have into a match. Now that we have the record for wins, we want to keep going and give the teams in the future something to strive for.”

The Tigers served notice that they will be tough to beat on their own floor, racing to a 15-5 lead after a block and a kill by Piazza. An ace by Olivia Baxter, a double-hit violation and a kill by Peyton Darguzis put West ahead 18-5 and they cruised the first-set win from there.

In the second set, East (5-27) hung tough early, getting an ace by Kyra Jordan and a combined block by Bailey Jackson and Rhiannon McKay to stay within 8-5. West then went on a 7-3 run to move ahead 15-8. A kill by East’s Gabrielle Schemidt made it 17-10, but the Bengals couldn’t get any closer. Grevengoed had two kills down the stretch, and Lina Govoni added one. The match ended with a block by Faith Jordan and Harris.

“We wanted to stick to Tiger volleyball,” West coach Chris Lincoln said. “We came out and did our thing and were true to ourselves.

“We know at this time of year, we have to show up ready to play regardless of who is on the other side of the net and the girls did that.”

East coach Kurt Dolson saw good things from his team as well.

“I am happy with how we played,” he said. “The girls played hard from start to finish. We got a postseason win under our belts (East beat Joliet Central on Monday), and that’s big for a young team like us. We start two sophomores [Schemidt and Jordan), so for them to get a full year of getting used the speed of the varsity game will be a big plus next year.”

The second match featured much tighter games and two evenly-matched teams. In the end, Bolingbrook rallied and pulled out an 18-25, 25-23, 25-17 win over Plainfield South to earn the right to play West for the title Thursday.

The Raiders (15-20) were led by sophomore Noelle Aprati, who delivered kills on five straight points late in the third set and finished with a team-high 11 kills. Sophia Barrera added 10 kills, while Faith Fisher had four. Sarah Harvey had 27 assists and four kills, while Alana Cruz had 11 digs.

“We have been waiting for a match like this,” Bolingbrook coach Molly DeSerf said. “We came out with a competitive mindset. We know we have the pieces, and we know how they fit together. We were able to play with heart and see what we were capable of.”

After South won the first set, the second was tied at 17 after back-to-back aces by the Cougars’ Sophia Pellegrini. Bolingbrook went up 19-17, getting a kill by Angie Pena, before South tied it with kills by Savannah Stepanek and Sami Lanan. Bolingbrook then scored five straight points to move to a 24-19 lead, but South scored the next four points to tighten it to 24-23 before the set ended on a South hitting error.

The third set was a collection of spurts from both sides, as Bolingbrook broke open a 3-3 game by going on an 8-2 run to make it 11-5. South answered with seven straight points to take a 12-11 lead, getting three aces from Stepanek in the spurt. With Bolingbrook leading 17-13, Aprati reeled off five straight kills to give the Raiders a 22-13 lead that they never lost.

“This is what we expected with two evenly-matched teams,” South coach Kate Kendall said. “Their setter [Harvey] did a great job, and so did their left-handed outside [Aprati]. I feel like we put of a good fight, but they had a little too much for us tonight.”

Lanan led South (18-15) with 12 kills, while Grace Malek had eight kills and 11 digs. Stepanek finished with seven kills, eight digs and five aces.