Last month Wheaton Warrenville South looked like a volleyball team that wouldn’t have to bother with hotel reservations in the Bloomington-Normal area this weekend.
The Tigers had the look of promise unfulfilled. With all starters returning from a 29-8 team, 2002 looked like it would be a great season. But Tigers went through a stretch in which they lost seven of 15 matches in 16 days.
After Friday, those days are forgotten.
Wheaton South advanced to the Class AA semifinals with a tough 15-13, 17-15 victory over Belleville West.
Wheaton Warrenville South meets top-ranked Downers Grove South, which defeated Moline 15-6, 15-8 in the quarterfinals, in the noon semfinal.
The Tigers were hampered by injuries, including a broken finger by Katie Weidner. They fought through it and needed all the toughness they could get to prevail.
“We’ve been second-guessed and discredited all season long,” said Tigers coach Bill Schreier, a 1987 Downers Grove South graduate. “We’re 32-8 now and we play in one of the toughest conferences in the state, playing quality tournaments, and that helps us. These are things we can utilize when push comes to shove.”
In the first game, Wheaton South nearly lost an 8-1 lead. In the second, it had serve at game point only to lose it. Belleville West then rallied from a 14-10 deficit to a 15-14 advantage. The Tigers advanced when they scored three straight points, including a Kim Compton kill for the victory. Nicole Wallace had 10 kills, and Compton and Julie Gagnon had nine each.
“All year our game plan is to be the best-prepared team,” Compton said.
“The best prepared always wins. That’s what our coach says. All week we’ve been preparing for this match. We knew they were a quality opponent, but we knew if we stuck with our game plan we could win.”
Downers South will bring another trophy home. Which one will be decided Saturday at Redbird Arena. The Mustangs left little doubt about their Saturday plans. They simply overpowered Moline (33-6).
“We were very disappointed last year,” said Downers South All-Stater Meghan Macdonald of the team’s quarterfinal departure in 2001. “My freshman year we won, and my sophomore year we took third place. We expected to win.”
Downers South was never in danger. The Mustangs ruled the net, getting eight blocks, while the Maroons had no blocks.
Macdonald had just three kills in the match, which moved the Mustangs’ record to 36-4. Abbott and senior Claire McCormack led the team with five each, and senior Beth Vrdsky had four.