Cary-Grove repeats, leaves no questions

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ALGONQUIN – Winning the Jacobs Volleyball Invitational last season didn’t leave Cary-Grove with the satisfaction the Trojans knew it should.

They had won it by a tiebreaker with Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic, a team that had defeated C-G that afternoon. The Trojans almost had left Jacobs’ gym before tournament directors somewhat unceremoniously handed them the championship plaque.

C-G’s players wanted a more satisfying outcome this year.

The Trojans left no doubt which team was the tournament’s most dominant Saturday, winning their second consecutive championship with a 3-0 record in pool play and wins against Waukesha Catholic, 25-15, 15-25, 25-23, and Stevenson, 25-17, 25-23, in the Platinum bracket.

The host Golden Eagles finished fourth, Crystal Lake Central took fifth and Hampshire finished 11th.

“One of our goals was to win this one clearly and outright,” junior middle blocker Ashley Rosch said. “We didn’t like the way we ended up winning it last year, and we knew that we could come out and get it done.”

The Trojans (8-0) rolled through pool play, defeating West Bend (Wis.) East, Boylan and Hersey before taking on Waukesha, which won a pool that included Hampshire and Crystal Lake Central.

The match pitted the IHSA Class 4A state champion Trojans against the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Division 2 state champion Crusaders.

Waukesha Catholic had defeated Stevenson, and a win against C-G would have been all the Crusaders needed to win the tournament.

C-G closed the first game on a 15-2 run, thanks in part to four kills from Kelly Lamberti (51 total kills) and three from Allison Whimpey, the Crusaders rallied for the win in Game 2 and came back from a nine-point deficit in Game 3, putting together a 9-3 run to trail by one, 22-21.

Kills from Lamberti, Whimpey and Rosch put the match away.

“The match against Waukesha was the best one we’ve played all year,” C-G coach Patty Langanis said. “It was nice to see us step up as the talent of our opponent increased. They were a very tough team and we played well.”

Jacobs coach Lisa Dwyer also was impressed with the way the Eagles handled pressure.

Jacobs’ fourth-place finish was its highest in at least four seasons, and the Eagles never looked out of sync, still fresh off a big win against Prairie Ridge last Thursday.

Jacobs (4-4) beat Belvidere and Elgin in pool play before losing to Crystal Lake Central, 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, and beating Hersey in Gold bracket play.

“We had a lot of chemistry and we’re coming together better as a team,” sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Ehrhardt (46 kills) said. “[Prairie Ridge] was a huge win for us as well as what we did today, and I think we had to prove to ourselves and to everyone else that we can do it.”

Central (5-3) started two freshmen, including setter Natalie Ricca, who filled in for senior Tracy Friel, who was out of town.

Ricca finished with 96 assists and 14 aces, and junior middle hitter Amelia Anderson led the Tigers’ attack with 52 kills.

Tigers coach Doug Blundy was pleased with the team’s play in the morning – Central beat Hampshire, 25-14, 25-16, and Naperville Central in pool play – but wasn’t as happy with the afternoon showing when the Tigers beat Jacobs but lost to Hersey.

“It seemed like there was just a lack of energy in the afternoon,” Blundy said. “We made too many careless mistakes, and they weren’t forced. ... It was good for us, though. We found out what we can do and what we need to work on.”