Stay Connected with YourSeason
Girls Volleyball: Inspired Carmel squad downs Lakes
Carmel's Jessie Wayland (5) and her team celebrate a win over Lakes in the sectional final on Nov. 3, 2011 at Ridgewood High School in Norridge. The Corsairs beat the Eagles 25-21, and 25-15. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
Updated: November 3, 2011 10:09PM
You didn’t expect Chicago Bears defensive back Charles Tillman to be a factor in Thursday’s Class 3A sectional girls volleyball championship match at Ridgewood.
But he was.
Tillman is friends with Carmel player Taylor Pippen’s mom (her dad is former Bulls star Scottie Pippen), and on Wednesday, Tillman gave a pep talk to the Carmel girls as they prepared for their match with Lakes.
Whatever Tillman said, he might want to repeat to his Bears teammates before they take the field on Monday in Philadelphia.
For on the volleyball court, Carmel dominated Lakes 25-21, 25-15 to earn a spot in the Elite 8 where it will face Marian Central of Woodstock at 6:30 Saturday at Woodstock North.
“He (Tillman) helped put things in perspective,” said Carmel thumper Jessie Wayland, who was one of the stars of the match. “He talked about staying positive the entire match, no matter what’s happening on the floor.
“Thinking positively was the whole thing for me tonight.”
For the match, Wayland had a team-high seven kills, and added two aces while serving. She had a run of five service points in Game 2 that took the score from 9-9 to 14-9.
“Jessie had a huge night,” said Carmel coach Dave Pazely. “If anyone picked the team up offensively and put it on their shoulders, it was her.”
Carmel (27-13) plays in the rugged East Suburban Catholic Conference, which is dominating in the postseason.
On the other side of the net, Lakes coach Molly May knew her team had to be perfect against a powerhouse opponent.
“We were flat today and didn’t play our game. The girls are taking it a little hard, but they have nothing to hang their heads about,” she said.
“They set a new standard for volleyball at Lakes.”
The Eagles finished 27-12 and won the North Suburban Prairie title and a regional title for the first time.
Carmel hasn’t played Marian Central this year.
“We’re going in blind, said Pazely. “But as we told the girls all year, it’s not who you play, it’s how you play.”
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment