Girls volleyball: L-P beats Morris for 20th regional title under Mark Haberkorn

LA SALLE – After the IHSA went to four classes in 2006, the La Salle-Peru girls volleyball team won 11 regional titles in 14 seasons from 2006 to 2019, never having back-to-back seasons without a plaque.

Then the Cavaliers did not have a chance at a regional title during the 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19 and fell short of championships in the fall of 2021 and 2022.

On Thursday, the No. 1-seeded Cavs returned to postseason glory, beating No. 4-seeded Morris 25-18, 25-16 in the Class 3A La Salle-Peru Regional championship.

“We’ve been waiting for this for years and years,” L-P senior Addie Duttlinger said. “We always knew we could do it. We’ve been right there. Tonight, we finally finished. It was awesome.

“It’s great to be part of that [L-P regional tradition]. I love my teammates. It’s just so much fun. I couldn’t imagine it with anyone else.”

“We always knew we could do it. We’ve been right there. Tonight, we finally finished. It was awesome.”

—  Addie Duttlinger, L-P senior

The regional title is L-P’s 20th under coach Mark Haberkorn. The win was the Cavs’ 30th of the season, giving them the 15th 30-win season under Haberkorn.

“I’m excited for the program,” Haberkorn said. “I’m real excited for the players to win a regional. It’s something that when you start playing is one of your goals.

“This team has done outstanding this year. They have answered the bell. They’ve played hard. I’m more excited for them, the program, the community and the school. For me, it’s nice, but I’m more happy for everybody else.”

The Cavs (30-6) advance to play Morton (28-7) in a Galesburg Sectional semifinal at 6 p.m. Monday. The No. 3 Potters beat No. 2 Limestone 25-21, 25-18 in the Limestone Regional final Thursday.

“We’ll have a few days to watch tape and have a game plan for them,” Haberkorn said. “They must be real good, because Limestone is a solid ballclub. It’s going to be a battle. We have to be ready to go after a two-hour bus trip to Galesburg.”

The Cavs started a bit slowly Thursday, falling behind 5-2 before rallying to tie the score at 6 on a kill by Ava Currie and taking the lead with a kill by Aubrey Duttlinger on the next rally.

The set was tied twice more before Kelsey Fredrick slammed down a kill to give L-P the lead for good at 11-10.

“I thought we played outstanding,” Haberkorn said. “We started slow again. I mean, if we’re not behind in set one we’re not happy. Then all of a sudden we turned on the switch and we connected offensively, and our defense was everywhere on the floor. We served hard.

“I can’t think of one thing that we didn’t do well.”

In the second set, L-P took the lead at 4-3 after a long volley and led the rest of the way before Addison Urbanski ended the match with a block.

In the third meeting between L-P and Morris this season, the Cavs made it difficult for Morris to put the ball down.

“We struggled,” Morris coach Scott Howell said. “We’ve been struggling all season. We played well at certain points, but our season has been ups and downs, and it was definitely an up-and-down game. We had really good moments, but you have to give credit to L-P, their defense played out of this world. They were picking everything up that we were giving to them.

“We didn’t take advantage of some of the opportunities we were given, and we gave the ball right back to them, and they have some really great hitters.”

Libero Marissa Sanchez led the L-P defense with 14 digs, while Kaylee Abens had 10 digs, Addie Duttlinger had nine digs, and Katie Sowers contributed eight digs.

At the net, Urbanski, Currie and Frederick had two blocks each.

“We did great defense-wise seeing where they were going to hit and passing the ball, getting great sets and putting the ball away,” Sanchez said. “We practice a lot, so it’s nice to see it come together and work in the end.”

Offensively, Sowers (11 assists) and Urbanski (10 assists) spread the ball around. Urbanski and Addie Duttlinger had five kills each, while Currie, Fredrick and Aubrey Duttlinger put down four each.

“I thought our setters did a great job mixing it up,” Addie Duttlinger said. “We were kind of nervous about their blocking, because they were strong in that area, but I thought our hitters did very well moving around that block and putting it where we normally wouldn’t.”

Morris finishes 20-17.

“It was a great season,” Howell said. “Finishing last in conference was hard for the girls, but it was still a successful season – 20 wins is nothing to shake your head at. It’s our third year in a row in a regional championship, and eventually we’re going to win one of these as long as we keep coming to them.”