Hampshire setter Kylie Lambert achieved a career passing milestone as the No. 1 seeded Whip-Purs fought to protect their home court during Tuesday’s IHSA 4A sectional semifinal girls volleyball match against Mundelein.

Lambert paced the Hampshire offense, finishing with a team-best 16 assists and eclipsing 1,000 assists for her career as the Whip-Purs defeated the No. 2 seeded Mustangs 25-20, 25-20. Outside hitters Katelyn Petterson and Elizabeth King combined for 21 kills as Hampshire (31-5) advanced to the sectional final, which will be played at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Hampshire.

“It means everything,” Lambert said. “It means a lot to me because a lot of setters aren’t able to do that unless they’re running a 5-1. I’ve worked really hard for this and it’s a goal I’ve wanted to reach for a long time now.”

The Whips will face Libertyville, which eliminated Huntley with a two-set win in the first of two sectional semifinal matches on Tuesday. Mundelein (20-18) kept pace with the Whips throughout the opening set, but big plays from Petterson, King and middle blocker Anna Schiltz helped Hampshire create separation late in the set. Schiltz totaled two kills and two blocks in the win.

“We all had the confidence that we could pull out the win,” Lambert said. “We knew our offense would be able to execute no matter what, but first contact is how we get going and we work on that a lot during practice. That was the key for us. My hitters did phenomenal. I have the job of getting them the ball, but I have to give it to them. I have a phenomenal offense up there.”

Petterson took the offensive initiative in the first set, where she had six kills including the final kill to seal the set for the Whips. Hampshire opened the second set on a 9-3 run, captalizing on one of three Petterson aces as well as critical hitting errors by the Mustangs, who finished with eight in the match. Petterson totaled nine kills and King led Hampshire with 12 kills.

“When I get mad, I play a lot better,” King said. “The student section helped us so much. I found open spots and I just turned it on. We had beaten them before and we wanted to show them that this is our gym... Overall, we played really well. I thought we stuck together and played as a team really well.”

Bella Snow dished out 12 assists for the Mustangs, who trailed 19-11 after a block by Hampshire’s Hailey Homola late in the second set. Outside hitters Tanner Leedle and Paige Prochnow each had four kills to lead the Mundelein offense. Sophomore Ella Ingve aided the Hampshire attack with nine assists.

“They have height and they hit over the top,” Mundelein coach Jeff Blezien said. “They played scrappy and they’re a really solid team. I liked how our team fought. We’re a little bit undersized and they hit over the top of us, but I thought we did a really good job defensively. It’s a testament to them.”

Libertyville, another No. 1 seed, won the first of the two semifinal matches Tuesday evening, overcoming a 6-1 run during the first set to beat No. 2 seed Huntley 25-21, 25-18. The Wildcats (31-7) faced Hampshire in a 4A sectional semifinal last year, edging the Whips in three sets. Libertyville displayed plenty of balance against Huntley, with six players earning kills.

“Our game plan was to hit deep corners and move the ball around,” said Libertyville setter Mairead Fleming, who posted a team-high 11 assists. “We did a really job of mixing up who was hitting and where they were hitting from... It’s a huge confidence booster and it gets our whole team going, on the bench and on the court, when we have different players getting kills.”

Huntley (27-11) took advantage of Libertyville’s hitting errors early in the match, taking a five-point lead and maintaining its slim lead for most of the opening set. But the Wildcats overcame their shaky start, as hitters Sydney Meyer and Elle Knight found their rhythm on the attack. Knight and Meyer combined for 11 kills, with Knight posting six kills, two assists and a block.

“It means so much,” said Fleming, whose team lost against Huntley in the 4A sectional final last season. “I thought we showed our drive to get the first pass up. Our libero, Charlie [Fleegle] was telling us in the huddle to focus on one thing at a time and do our jobs. That’s what got us going.”

Emily Ernst collected 10 assists and Abby Whitehouse followed with nine assists for the Red Raiders, who conceded the first set after Libertyville closed it with a 6-1 run. Back-to-back Huntley hitting errors enabled the Wildcats to take a 6-1 lead early in the second set. Service errors also hurt the Red Raiders, who fell behind 19-11 and were unable to rally back.

“This will be one of those games for the younger girls to remember,” Huntley coach Karen Naymola said. “When you come out timid in a sectional game, it’s not going to end well. You have to be aggressive, stay aggressive and play to win. I thought we did that in spurts and we jumped out early in the game, but then we started playing safe. Serving has been the strongest part of our game the entire season, but I thought we missed too many serves.”

Outside hitters Izzy Whitehouse, Mia Jacobelli and middle blocker Riley Galanis all finished with four kills for the Red Raiders, who ended the match with 10 hitting errors and three service errors. Middle blocker Summer Massow added three kills and a team-best two blocks on the front line.