Magic moment for CL Central

Julie Jeziorowski (center, left) and Caity DeCoster (center, right) cheer Tuesday with the rest of the Crystal Lake Central volleyball team after the Tigers beat Wauconda in their IHSA Class 3A Vernon Hills Sectional semifinal match. (Nick Dentamaro – ndentamaro@nwherald.com)

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VERNON HILLS – Lindsey Anderson had a good feeling about the Crystal Lake Central volleyball team’s chances against Wauconda on Tuesday right when the
senior middle hitter walked into the gym.

Vernon Hills’ gym had been a magical setting for the Tigers during their 2007 state championship team. Central won its Class 3A supersectional title on the Cougars’ floor.

Anderson, who was on that state title team as a sophomore, felt those memories wash over her Tuesday in the Tigers’ IHSA Class 3A Vernon Hills Sectional semifinal against the Bulldogs. Losing on the Cougars’ floor was not an option, so top-seeded Central rolled out
a 25-21, 25-19 win against fourth-seeded Wauconda to advance to the sectional final at 7 p.m. Thursday against second-seeded St. Viator, which beat third-seeded Prairie Ridge, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18, in Tuesday’s other semifinal.

“It’s so good to be back in a sectional final,” Anderson said. “This site is a good one for us, too, because this is where we found out that we were going to go to state. I walked in the door, remembered that supersectional and had a good feeling right away.”

Central (35-3) did not play their sharpest match of its season against the Bulldogs, missing seven serves in the first set.

“I thought for a minute we were trying to see which team could miss more serves,” Central coach Doug Blundy said. “We were doing that against [Richmond-Burton in the regional final] too, and we’re going to have to work on it before Thursday. We’re usually very aggressive with our serves.”

Outside of its serving game, Central played a well-balanced match against the Bulldogs, spreading the attack between sophomore Amelia Anderson (eight kills), and junior Tara Weber (seven kills) while libero Julie Jeziorowski paced the defense with 12 digs.

“We’re going to spend the whole day [today] at practice working on serving and serve-receive,” Lindsey Anderson said. “We need to get back to being as aggressive as we can.”

Prairie Ridge (28-10) won its first set with St. Viator but was not able to be as aggressive as the Wolves wanted during their second set. The Wolves led, 11-3, but the Lions got back in the game by limiting the Wolves’ outside options and playing tighter defense. Prairie Ridge started to play a more timid game and along with the aggression went some of the Wolves’ confidence.

“You could tell that we were freaking out a little bit on the court,” Prairie Ridge coach Stefanie Otto said. “[St. Viator] started playing very aggressive [in the second set]. They were swinging hard and blocking us tough. We did not make some of the best choices on setting, and we struggled passing.”

Senior setter and middle blocker Taylor Brauneis, who will continue her volleyball career at University of Louisville, bowed out of her high school finale with 14 kills and 16 assists.

“This year was my favorite,” said Brauneis, a four-year varsity player. “I learned so much this season about leadership that I can take with me to college, and this team was so much fun.”

The Wolves were young this season as well, with only four seniors on the roster.

“It’s exciting to think about the future with these girls,” Otto said. “But for the seniors it’s a sad ending.”

Junior outside hitter Taylor Humm and senior libero Lexi Wachman each tallied 19 digs for the Wolves.