’Canes continue on to sectionals

Marian Central's Tara Blake (center) celebrates with teammates after winning the IHSA Class 3A Marengo regional final Thursday against Richmond-Burton. Marian Central won, 25-19, 25-16. (Sarah Nader - snader@shawmedia.com)

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MARENGO – She routinely posts the kind of numbers most girls who play her position only dream about.

Marian Central’s Abby Gilleland doesn’t play like most other setters. Instead, the senior playmaker blends an unusual combination of timely aggression, selfless passing and strategic hitting.

“She wants to show that she knows where to put the ball and how to score,” Hurricanes coach Laura Watling said.

“She likes to take advantage when she can because she’s just a really smart player,” Watling said. “This is her last year, and she wants to go out as strong as she can.”

Gilleland went out strong and put together another all-around impressive performance Thursday night.

She finished with 18 assists, seven kills, eight digs and four blocks to lead the top-seeded Marian past No. 2 Richmond-Burton, 25-19, 25-16, in the IHSA Class 3A Marengo Regional championship game.

“I knew that if I put up some kills with some tips in the front, it would open up some one-on-one stuff for my hitters,” Gilleland said. “It wasn’t necessarily about scoring points, just to keep the defense off guard.”

The Hurricanes (31-6), who finished third in Class 3A a year ago, move on to face Rock Falls in the Genoa-Kingston Sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Even though they don’t even play in the same conference, it was the fourth meeting between Marian and Richmond-Burton (29-8) this season. And with Thursday’s win, the Hurricanes managed to sweep all four games.

“It was nerve-wracking because they’re a good team,” Watling insisted. “It’s not like we ever beat them easily. They were in every match and we know what they were capable of. We were game planning for every scenario they might try and throw at us. And I was pleased that the girls came out all-business.”

Junior middle Meredith Patterson proved to be all business once she stepped behind the service line for the Hurricanes.

Patterson kept the Rockets off-balance and came through with three aces during Marian’s seven-point run that broke open a close contest in the opening game.

With its season on the line, Richmond-Burton came out strong in Game 2. Sophomore middle Kelsey Burlini stepped up with a kill to help the Rockets build a 6-2 edge early on.

The Hurricanes quickly went to senior outside hitter Emma Hussey (8 kills), who put together a big second game, for three straight kills to get back into the match.

After back-to-back aces from sophomore Frankie Taylor, Marian took the lead at 11-9 and never looked back. The Hurricanes extended their advantage to 20-12 with Patterson once again behind the service line.

“We just always let silly mistakes lead to big runs,” Rockets coach Kaycee Kaywood said. “It was just unforced errors.”

Richmond-Burton standout Ali Frantti finished with a game-high nine kills and did what she could to keep the Big Northern Conference East Division champs alive. But it just wasn’t enough against the Hurricanes’ active front line.

The Rockets, led by Frantti and twin sisters Kim (8 kills, 5 digs) and Kara Russell (15 assists), expect to have its entire roster back together next season.

“I think they just need to realize the amount of talent they have,” Kaywood said, “and go out with a little bit more confidence (next year).”