When a team like St. Charles North goes on a lengthy winning streak that spans not only matches but also sets, there’s always the possibility it could end at some point.

Wednesday was not the day the North Stars were ready to concede their run, and they won their nonconference match over St. Francis, 25-18, 25-22 in St. Charles. That extended their match-winning streak to 17 and their set-winning streak to 34.

“Every day, we’re just trying to win the day,” St. Charles North coach Lindsey Hawkins said. “That’s what we talk about in our gym. We want to win the day no matter if it’s a game or it’s practice. We want to come in, and we want to be the best that we can be that day in that moment.”

At the outset, it appeared this would be an easy match for the North Stars (22-2), jumping out to an 18-5 lead in the first set in part because of a seven-point rally. But the Spartans (15-4) had their own seven-point rally to cut that lead in more than half.

After two more St. Charles North points, St. Francis had a four-point rally to cut the lead to 20-16. That was as good as it got for the Spartans as they were unable to overcome three service aces from outside hitter Ellie Sutter and one from Penn State-bound captain Haley Burgdorf.

“I think we all do a good job staying together and all being one person,” said Burgdorf, who had a game-high 11 kills. “It’s not really all on one person.”

The second set was closer as St. Charles North had the longest run at four points. Defensive specialist Addie Kashuba contributed one service ace in a set that got a little close for comfort at the end and also provided a lighthearted moment.

In the middle of a point, Spartans senior Maria Bukowski’s shoe came off, causing the officials to blow the point dead and have it replayed. Bukowski and her team took the moment with humor.

“She is just a lighthearted kid,” St. Francis coach Lisa Ston said with a laugh. “So for that to happen, it kind of did break the tension in the moment and gave us a reset. So it was great. She’s fine. She does funny stuff all the time.”

The incident indeed appeared to loosen the Spartans up as they held off three straight match points to get within two. However, it came too late to alter the outcome as the North Stars clinched the match after that.

“Unfortunately, we got ourselves into a little bit of a slump to start,” said Ston. “In both sets there, we gave up a big run at the beginning of the game, which is tough to dig out against a team like that.”

Junior Grace Glover led St. Francis with six kills.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251001/girls-volleyball/girls-volleyball-st-charles-north-stays-hot-sweeps-st-francis-for-17th-straight-win/