Regional Final vs. Rolling Meadows - October 29th

From The Daily Herald

Some preseason prognosticators didn’t think much of the Barrington girls volleyball team prospects this season.

“Everyone said it was going to be a rebuilding year,” said first-year Barrington coach Kathleen Russell. “They gave us no chance. But I don’t think any of our players felt that way.”

The Fillies sure didn’t feel that way Saturday afternoon in Rolling Meadows, as Barrington defeated the Mustangs 23-25, 25-19, 25-22 to claim the regional championship.

The No. 4-seeded Fillies (23--14) advance to the Hoffman Estates sectional semifinal on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. and will meet top-seeded Prairie Ridge.

“No one thought we would be here,” said Barrington defensive specialists Megan Asher. “It’s a great feeling to prove everyone wrong.”

Despite the loss, Rolling Meadows proved they belonged. The Mustangs overcame the loss of their regular setter to come within a few points of winning the regional.

Senior Megan Sabal went out with a leg injury in the first game after diving into the stands to attempt a dig, leaving the setting duties for the remainder of the game to Morgan Schaefer.

Schaefer filled in admirably as the senior was 61-for-61 setting with 13 assists.

“This is the most I’ve ever set in a real game,” said Schaefer. “It feels great to know I held my own.”

Sabal went to the sidelines with the score tied 20-20 in game 1, but Schaefer saved the day with a left-handed kill to give Meadows the first game victory.

“I felt that they were doing well,” said Russell of her team after the Game 1 loss. “They were in control, but they were so excited, their adrenaline was going so much.”

“We felt we could play with them,” added Barrington setter Lexi Zimmerman. “After the first-game loss, we realized how much harder we had to push.”

Meadows took an early lead in Game 2 with Sarah Cooper (27-of-29 on attack, 15 kills, 2 aces) and Kyrsten Becker (5 kills, 1 ace) playing well, but Barrington came back behind Autumn Worozaken (10 kills) and Zimmerman (19 assists, 9 kills) to even the match.

Meadows trailed 10-4 in the deciding game before rallying to trail only 23-22 late.

Then Barrington’s Natalie Barton hit a strong kill, and Asher finished off the match emphatically with an ace.

“It was invigorating, amazing,” Asher said. “It means lot. Basically, it confirms all of our hard work and desire.”

“I’m extremely proud of our team,” Rolling Meadows coach Janet Opels said. “Who knows what could have happened with just a break or two down the stretch.

“We lost the match, but we’re not losers,” Opels added. “We battled the entire way. We came within 3 points of a win despite playing two games without our regular setter.”

Sarah Camodeca of Meadows was 9-for-9 on service with an ace and 16-of-19 on serve receive, while teammate Charlotte Milas recorded 9 blocks and 5 kills.

Chelsea Nagle was 13-of-15 on attack with 8 kills for the Fillies.

Regional Semifinal vs. Fremd - October 26th

From The Daily Herald:

Tough battle to Barrington
Fillies hold off MSL West rival Fremd in three
By Kathy Rudolph

There’s a reason why most coaches don’t favor the IHSA’s preference of putting teams from the same conference in the same sectional complex.

Even though Barrington defeated Mid-Suburban West rival Fremd in both of their meetings this season, the third encounter was another hard-fought battle that eventually went Barrington’s way 25-22, 20-25, 25-21 in Wednesday’s semifinals of the Class AA Rolling Meadows regional.

Barrington, the No. 4 seed in the Hoffman Estates sectional complex, advances to Saturday’s 3 p.m. regional final.

The Fillies (22-15) will play host Meadows, the No. 7 seed, which defeated No. 10 Conant 25-13, 25-20 in the second semifinal Wednesday.

“I thought we played an outstanding match,” said Fremd coach Curt Pinley. “In fact I thought we played a better game than they did but in order to beat a team like that, you have to play even better.”

There wasn’t much difference between Barrington and Fremd (15-22), the No. 14 seed, in the first game.

The teams traded the lead five times. By the time the score was 6-6, they had already been tied six times.

At 13-13, kills by Natalie Barton and Lexi Zimmerman helped Barrington build a 15-13 lead.

But Fremd stayed close behind kills from Ashley Dipasquale and Katharine Leginski and managed to tie the game at 20-20.

But kills by Barton and Chelsea Nagle put Barrington ahead 22-20, and the game ended on kills by Barton and Melanie Lorenz.

Fremd got off to a 5-0 lead in Game 2 behind 3 straight aces by Ester Mellado, and the Vikings maintained their advantage the rest of the way.

“We made a lot of hitting errors,” said Barrington coach Kathleen Russell. “Our defense and hitter errors were terrible in the second game.

“We just have to get in the habit of playing our game. They want someone to get the ball but they need to talk to each other more, which they did in the third game.”

The third game resembled the first. Tied at 3-3, Fremd took the lead and held it until a 4-0 run cut it to 12-10.

Down 12-11, Barrington scored 6 of the next 8 points to go in front for good.

“We got down in Game 3 a bit,” Pinley said. “We dug a hole and it’s tough to come back, but I thought we showed a lot of character in coming back.”

“We turned it around defensively,” Russell said. “Autumn (Worozaken) was just bombing them.”

Worozaken had several key kills for the Fillies, finishing with a match-high 13, while setter Caroline Vanacker came up with some outstanding defensive plays for the Vikings.

“She’s been the heart and soul of out team all year,” Pinley said. “She brought that something extra tonight and kept us in the game.”

State Tournament Regional/Sectional Schedule

Barrington Games in Bold

Rolling Meadows Regional

Tue., Oct. 25
Match 1 at 7:00 p.m.: (12) Palatine (H.S.) vs. (14) Palatine (Fremd)
Wed., Oct. 26
Match 2 at 6:30 p.m.: (4) Barrington vs. Winner Match 1
Match 3 at 7:30 p.m.: (7) Rolling Meadows vs. (10) Hoffman Estates (Conant)
Sat., Oct. 29
Match 4 at 3:00 p.m.: Winner Match 2 vs. Winner Match 3

Hoffman Estates (H.S.) Sectional

Tue., Nov. 1
Match 1 at 6:30 p.m.: Winner Crystal Lake (Prairie Ridge) Regional vs. Winner Rolling Meadows Regional
Match 2 at 7:30 p.m.: Winner Crystal Lake (South) Regional vs. Winner Crystal Lake (Central) Regional
Thu., Nov. 3
Match 3 at 7:00 p.m.: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2

2005 Mid-Suburban League Volleyball Championship

Barrington and Hersey will play for the Mid-Suburban League Championship on Wednesday, October 19, 2005. The varsity championship game will be played in the Barrington High School Main Gym at 7:00pm. The winning team will receive the MSL Championship Trophy, while the losing team will receive the MSL Divisional Trophy.

Admission for the match will be $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for students with a school ID.

Here is the schedule for Wednesday's match:

Wednesday (10/19)
6:00 - Doors Open (All-Conference players need to check in at the scorer's table)
6:20 - Introduction of the All-Conference Teams & Players of the Year
6:35 - Coin Toss & Warm-Ups Begin
6:55 - Introduction of Players & National Anthem
7:00 - Game Time

All Other Teams Will Play On Tuesday, October 18, 2005.

Here is the schedule for Tuesday's matches:

Tuesday (10/18)
5:00 - Sophomore match on the main court
5:00 - Freshman "Black" match on the back court
Junior Varsity match will follow the sophomore match on the main court
Freshman "Red" match will follow the "Black" match on the back court

Please note that the girls on all teams are expected to attend the Varsity games (including next Wednesday's) for as long as they keep playing. A bus will be provided for away games.

At Conant - October 11th

From The Daily Herald:

Fillies continue MSL division perfection

Barrington coach Kathleen Russell waited and waited for the Fillies to pull out of their deficit.

She held back from calling a timeout when they struggled and eventually fell in the second game to Conant. She continued to refrain from using a timeout when the Cougars took an early lead in Game 3.

It wasn’t until her patience had dwindled and Conant pulled ahead 18-13 that Russell decided enough was enough and called for time.

She pinpointed where the mistakes were being made, put senior captain Chelsea Nagle back in and sent the Fillies out to the court.

It was just what Barrington needed as it rallied to win the third game and complete its fifth straight undefeated MSL West season. The Fillies defeated Conant 25-23, 23-25, 25-23 for their 56th straight division win.

Barrington (16-8, 10-0) will host Hersey on Oct. 19 for the MSL crown.

“I expect the girls to push themselves,” Russell said. “When I called timeout we needed to change some things up and slow them down.

“Conant was playing with a lot of adrenaline. You don’t want to beat anyone on their senior night, but we wanted to keep the conference streak going, so we had to win. It’s not important for me because it’s my first year, but it’s important to the school and the girls.”

It was in the back of Barrington junior Amy Raseman’s mind.

The Fillies were behind late in the third game and their hitting hadn’t found many holes.

When setter Lexi Zimmerman went to Raseman in that situation, she didn’t let her team down. Raseman, a 5-foot-11 lefty, smashed a shot past Conant’s defense to pull Barrington within 19-15.

Zimmerman went back to Raseman on the following two plays. Each had the same result against the Cougars (16-12, 5-5).

Raseman (10 kills) would add another kill to tie the match at 21-21. “We struggled a lot more than we had hoped to,” Raseman said. “But it was a good, intense match to end conference.”

At Hoffman Estates - October 6th

From The Daily Herald:

Fillies are champs again

Barrington’s 25-11, 25-19 victory clinched its sixth straight Mid-Suburban West title and first for rookie girls coach Kathleen Russell.

The Fillies (16-7, 9-0) took an 8-2 lead in Game 1 and never looked back.

The Hawks (4-18, 0-9) played tough but Barrington’s crisp play left little room for error on the Hawks’ side of the court.

“We got to play a lot of girls,” Russell said. “We have been working on our serving and it showed today.”

Barrington seemed to be in sync early by serving several aces and never wasted a chance to score on a kill.

Hoffman adjusted in the second game, but its improved play came a little too late.

The Hawks took an 8-5 lead in Game 2 and seemed poised for an upset.

“We played better in the second game,” said Hoffman coach Angela Drenth. “They (Barrington) were just a little quicker than us; we need to work a little on our blocking so we will be ready for Schaumburg on Tuesday.”

Leading the Barrington attack were Autumn Worozaken (8 kills), Natalie Barton (6) and Jackie Patmor (3) while setter Lexi Zimmerman (43-of-43) handed out 18 assists.

“Our timing is good right now and we feel we’re playing pretty well,” Russell said. “We committed a few errors, but we feel we’re getting to where we need to be.”

The Fillies, who have won 55 straight in the MSL West, will see some solid competition today and Saturday at the St. Charles Invite.

Volleyball Yearbook Pictures

Photos courtesy of the Wilsons. Click to enlarge, then right click and "Save As" to download:

Still More Freshman Tourney Pictures

These pictures are from the BHS Freshman Tournament on September 17th. Click to enlarge, then right click and "Save As" to download.

More Freshman Tourney Pictures

These pictures are from the BHS Freshman Tournament on September 17th. Click to enlarge, then right click and "Save As" to download. More later.

Some Pictures From The Freshman Tourney

These pictures are from the BHS Freshman Tournament on September 17th. Click to enlarge, then right click and "Save As" to download. More later.

At Lake Zurich - October 4th

From The Daily Herald:

Berwanger leads Lake Zurich to thrilling win

The Lake Zurich girls volleyball team sleepwalked through the start of its home match Tuesday against Barrington.

The Bears lost the first game 25-18 and trailed 16-8 in the following game.

“We knew we could play a lot better than that,” senior Lauren Sandelin.

Which is exactly what the Bears proceeded to do.

Lake Zurich rallied and took the second game 25-23 and then won a wild third game 28-26 to earn a significant victory going into tonight’s seeding meeting for the regional.

“We want to get a top-four seed so we don’t see Prairie Ridge in the regional,” Lake Zurich coach Michelle Jakubowski said.

The Bears quickly erased their deficit in the second game behind strong serving from senior Meghan Zins.

With the score tied 20-20, the Barrington bench was given a red card. By rule, Lake Zurich was awarded a point and led 21-20.

Lake Zurich strung together three more points before Natalie Barton came through with a kill. After surrendering two more points, Lake Zurich senior Jen Berwanger’s kill put the game away.

“I told the girls to take (the point) and go,” Jakubowski said. “That was huge.”

Lake Zurich (15-7) and Barrington (15-8) played great in the third game.

Berwanger, who had a match-high 18 kills, came through with several key Lake Zurich points.

“It’s no secret where we’re going, and she really came through,” Jakubowski said.

Added Berwanger: “My teammates helped me a lot by talking and telling me where the blockers were.”

After going through a lull in the second game, Barrington played focused and emotional volleyball the rest of the way.

“We were more intense and when we made mistakes they were aggressive mistakes,” setter Lexi Zimmerman said.

Lake Zurich enjoyed leads of 20-15 and 24-20 but could not put Barrington away. The Fillies’ Autumn Worozaken, who had 3 of her 8 kills in the final game, recorded an ace to give her team a 25-24 advantage.

A Berwanger kill tied the score at 25-25 and the Bears went ahead 27-26. This time, they were able to close out Barrington on a kill by Sandelin.

“I was a little nervous, but I wanted the ball,” she said. “I put it over and it worked out.”

Barton’s 9 kills topped Barrington. Zimmerman had a big all-around game with 28 assists, 3 blocks and 5 digs. Jennifer Borchers contributed 3 aces.

For Lake Zurich, Crystal Wright had 6 kills and 4 aces.

“It felt like were going through the motions early,” Berwanger said. “(Fortunately), we really picked it up.”

Some Homecoming Parade Pics