Girls volleyball: Sandburg gets revenge on Lincoln-Way Central

Lincoln-Way Central put quite a shock into No. 2 Sandburg on Oct. 21, beating the Eagles in two games to steal away a share of the SouthWest Suburban Blue title and break their 35-match league winning streak.

The rematch was Tuesday night in a Class 4A Andrew Sectional semifinal. This time Sandburg was ready.

With a more typical spread-it-around offense clicking on all cylinders, the Eagles prevailed 25-20, 25-16 to earn a spot in Thursday’s sectional title match against No. 3 Marist.

Dakota Hampton led the way for Sandburg (32-6) with eight kills and 11 digs. Kristy Theisen (8 kills), Paige Bendell (8 kills), Kristen Bailey (5 blocks), Kara Kentner (18 assists) and Kendall Riechman (9 digs) also starred for the Eagles.

Lincoln-Way Central (26-12) was led by Danielle Dowd (8 kills, 7 digs), Maria Brown (6 kills), Amanda Dolan (4 kills, 4 blocks), Val Crilly (7 digs), Amy Bernhard (7 digs) and Kaitlyn Siadek (14 assists).

The Eagles slipped and slid for a portion of Game 1, falling behind by as much as 7-3. But they eventually would fight their way into a 14-all tie, then later stayed in front the rest of the match.

Revenge, anyone?

“Once we heard that they beat Providence (in a regional final) we were gunning for them,” Kentner said of the Knights. “We knew that this was the team to beat.

“I like to take it one game at a time, so this was my first priority. I wasn’t worried about McAuley or Marist at the time. We were ready to beat (Central).”

Sandburg’s Megan Hutchinson snuffed out a mini-rally in Game 1 that had gotten Central to within 21-19 with a tip for kill. Riechman followed with an ace, and the Eagles were on their way.

In Game 2, Sandburg raced to a 6-1 advantage. The Knights never got closer than three the rest of the way.

“As much as I wanted to come out and be a little more competitive and go to three games, the one thing I told the girls afterward was that losing to Sandburg in sectionals does not define our season,” Central coach Kathy Sulkowski said.

“All of the things that we accomplished that people didn’t think we could do, like winning conference and regionals, that’s what the season is about. I was very impressed with Sandburg. They showed up to play and we knew that they would. Hats off to Sandburg.”

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