Published: October 30, 2009 07:02 am      

Illinois regional volleyball roundup: Fulton reaches final

Herald Staff Report

FULTON, Ill. — Fulton advanced to Saturday’s championship match by winning a pair of matches on its home court Thursday night at the Illinois Class 1A Fulton Regional volleyball tournament.

The third-seeded Steamers (25-12) defeated Three Rivers Conference rival Prophetstown 25-9, 25-16 in the opener before knocking off second-seeded Cambridge Ridgewood 25-18, 25-16 in the semifinals.

“We hadn’t seen Cambridge but had a couple of scouting reports and knew they would be tough,” Fulton coach Stacy Germann said. “We knew P-town would be scrappy.”

Germann said the Steamers might have been fortunate to receive the third seed, thus requiring a play-in game while Ridgewood had a bye.

“It really was (an advantage),” she said. “The way they produced in the P-town game gave them 10 times more confidence for Cambridge. Sometimes we play five in one day, so I said two games is no big deal.”

Liz Sanquist led Fulton with six blocks in the first match, while Lydia Schaver had 14 assists and three ace serves, and Kim Rogis had seven digs and nine service points. Against Ridgewood, Amber Grant led the way with 11 kills, while Lindsey Renkes added nine. Schaver made 20 assists, Rogis had 10 digs and Kelsey Munck served nine points, including two aces.

“I told the girls that this is the first time we’ve had all our hitters (produce on the same day),” Germann said. “Amber Grant probably stood out the most. (Kari) Kuehl and Rogis played real well on defense. They didn’t let a ball drop.”

Germann said defense was stressed heading into the postseason.

“After Stillman (Saturday’s Stillman Valley tournament) we worked on defense three days, and they made it better. Our girls basically weren’t moving; they were giving up on balls. We said, ‘You just have to go,’ They had to know these are gettable balls. The girls have been able to hit all year, but if you can’t get balls up to the setter, you can’t get the offense going.”

Fulton will face top seed Orion for the regional title at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fulton’s Stan Borgman Court.

“We played them two weeks at the Mendota tournamnt and lost in three,” Germann said. “I really think we’re both competitive. It’s going to be a good game. It’s going to be a fun game.

“They have some good hitters. When we played against them, we blocked them pretty well. That’s going to be key — we have to stop their big hitters and get our offense going.”



CLASS 1A FULTON REGIONAL

Fulton 25-25, Prophetstown 9-16

Fulton individual statistics

Kills — Liz Sanquist 6, Kelsey Munck 4, Allison DeWeerdt 3. Assists — Lydia Schaver 14, DeWeerdt 5. Ace serves — Schaver 3, Kim Rogis 2. Blocks — Paige Sanquist 2, L. Sanquist 2, Lindsey Renkes 2, Amber Grant 2. Digs — Rogis 7, Munck 5, Stephanie Adams 3, L. Sanquist 3, Renkes 3, Grant 3. Serving points — Rogis 9, Schaver 8, Munck 7.

Fulton 25-25, Ridgewood 18-16

Fulton statistical leaders

Kills — Grant 11, Renkes 9, L. Sanquist 5. Assists — Schaver 20, DeWeerdt 11. Aces — Munck 2, Schaver 1, DeWeerdt 1. Blocks — Grant 1, Renkes 1, P. Sanquist 1. Digs — Rogis 10, Kari Kuehl 6, Munck 6, L. Sanquist 4. Serving points — Munck 9, Rogis 6, Schaver 4.



Thunder reach final

BYRON, Ill. — West Carroll advanced to the final of the Class 2A Byron Regional by rallying for a 20-25, 25-16, 27-25 victory against Stillman Valley in Thursday’s semifinals.

The Thunder will take on host Byron at 7 p.m. Saturday in the final.



Newman ousts Morrison

ROCK FALLS, Ill. — Sterling Newman beat Morrison 25-22, 25-19 on Thursday in the semifinals of the Class 2A Rock Falls Regional tournament.

The Comets will face host Rock Falls in Saturday’s 7 p.m. final. Rock Falls beat Oregon in three games in the other semifinal.