Conant - September 20th

From The Daily Herald:

Fillies turn back inspired Conant
By Mike Eaken
Daily Herald correspondent

Barrington was pushed to the limit on Tuesday night but continued its Mid-Suburban League girls volleyball winning streak.

Conant gave the Fillies all they could handle as the decisive third game was tied at 22-22.

That’s when Autumn Worozaken provided a much-needed spark, scoring 2 points on kills before match point as Barrington claimed a 25-22, 18-25, 25-22 victory. It was the Fillies’ 51st consecutive win in the West.

“Autumn brings such a fire to the team,” said first-year Barrington coach Kathleen Russell of her junior outside hitter. “They really don’t talk about the streak, they talk about how they will play as a team. They just want to win.”

Barrington (11-6, 5-0) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the final game and was clinging to an 11-9 lead before Conant (8-8, 2-3) scored the next 5 points to take a 13-11 advantage.

A gritty Cougar squad held an 18-16 advantage when Barrington’s Lexi Zimmerman (3 kills) and Natalie Barton (4 kills) led the Fillies to a 21-18 lead.

But Mandy Michna came up with a clean kill for Conant to tie the score at 22-22.

Worozaken (20-of-22 on attack, 6 kills) then came up with her 2 deciding points.

“It was a little shaky,” said Worozaken, who admitted the streak has made the Fillies a marked team. “It feels like there’s a target on us and everybody is pumped up to play us. We have to fight for it — we have more to lose than everybody else.”

Zimmerman (30 assists) also sparked the Fillies in her setter role.

“Once we step on the court, all we talk about is volleyball,” said Zimmerman of her team’s focus. “The intensity level picks up.”

The Fillies led the first game 24-19, before the Cougars went on a 3-0 run to narrow the deficit to 2 points. But Jenny Borcher had a kill to give Barrington game point.

Michna had 10 consecutive service points to lead Conant to a 13-2 lead in the second game. The Fillies had a number of unforced errors in the game, which led to the decisive game.

Alexa Hansen (7 kills) and Kailey Kassner (5 kills) supported the Cougars with a strong showing around the net.

“The girls did a phenomenal job,” said Conant coach Peggy Scholten, who won her 502nd match on Saturday. “They’re not going to fall apart. These kids are here to battle and here to compete.”