Maroons, Storm to clash for regional title

ELGIN -- Very little worth having is easy to attain, as the volleyball teams from Elgin and South Elgin found out Thursday night in Larkin Class 4A Regional semifinal play.

Top-seeded Elgin charged out to a 25-11 victory in the first set before needing a rally and a big Abbey Houde cross-court kill to put away host Larkin 27-25 and make Saturday's 1 p.m. championship match. And second-seeded South Elgin followed a similar path, coasting to a 25-15 victory in the first set before needing a frantic rally to come away with a 25-19 victory in the second set to make the finals.

"I think we came out with a little bit less intensity," Elgin coach Keith Foster said. "That 25-11 game showed how good we were as a team and I think even we were a little surprised and had to step back. We played not so well to start Game 2."

In the second set, Larkin charged out to a 15-11 lead behind the hitting of Piper Johnson and blocking of Stacie Beaver, but the Maroons got huge contributions from younger players like junior Jenny Fulton and sophomores Rachel Roth and Elyssa Helker to fight back into it and tied it at 19 on Danielle Lawry's kill.

The teams were tied at 21 and Larkin appeared ready to force a third set when Beaver's kill gave the Royals a 24-21 edge.

However, the Maroons (11-22) had one more rally left and Alyssa Higdon's kill, a long Larkin hit and Roth's ace tied it. A long volley with the teams tied at 25 finally ended when Houde made what essentially was a one-handed push across court that landed in the corner behind Larkin's defense for a 26-25 lead.

Then the Royals couldn't control the ball after Lindsey Hedl's serve and the match had ended with Elgin earning a shot at its first regional title since 1994.

"It was their will to win," Foster said. "They did not want to lose. Through the entire day at school they were coming up to me and shaking me and saying 'It's game time.' "

Elgin got seven kills from Higdon, five from Fulton and four from Helker and Houde. Hedl came up with 11 digs.

"We had more intensity, more will and drive," Larkin coach Gail Johnson said about the second set. "We had just a couple missed serve receives that cost us and made some nice attacks, but they really had some good defense."

Fourth-seeded Larkin (2-29) had six kills and a block from Beaver and three kills and a block from Johnson while Lexi Smithberg produced 13 assists.