Girls volleyball: Peotone sweeps past Reed-Custer in regional; Wilmington falls in 3 sets

SENECA – There was an imposing wall of players on the Peotone side of the net Monday night in the opening match of the Class 2A Seneca Regional. Smack in the middle of things was senior Brooke Gwiazda.

Gwiazda collected five kills and four blocks and she altered several more Reed-Custer attacks as the Blue Devils swept the Comets 26-24, 25-22 to advance and play top-seeded Coal City in Tuesday’s semifinal.

“When I block well, it helps give our team more energy and momentum,” Gwiazda said. “We all worked together as a team and that really helped us tonight.”

The Blue Devils (15-14) weren’t flashy, but they did not beat themselves with unforced errors. Their serves were on target and included five aces. Besides Gwiadza, they got strong contributions from Marissa Velasco (5 kills, 1 block), Madyson Kibelkis (4 kills) and Mackenzie Strough (4 points, 2 aces, 1 kill).

The first set was tight early before Reed-Custer rallied to take a 23-18 lead on the strength of three service points by Makenzie Welker. Velasco stopped the string with a kill for Peotone, and then served two points to pull her team to within 23-21. A Peotone hitting error made it 24-21 Reed-Custer, but Peotone got a kill by Allie Werner, an ace by Ella Stupegia, a block by Gwiazda and a kill by Gwiazda to win the set.

“We had beat them when we played them in conference,” Gwiazda said. “We were really excited for this match and we came prepared.”

Reed-Custer (15-19-1) took a quick 3-1 lead in the second set, but Peotone got two kills and a block by Velasco to gain an 8-5 advantage. Behind the hitting of Kaylee Tribble and Mackenzie Keller, Reed-Custer stormed back and took a 17-16 lead. A kill by Keller later tied it at 19, but a Comet hitting error and a kill by Gwiazda gave the Blue Devils a lead they didn’t relinquish.

“We were strong at the net with both our blocking and our hitting,” Peotone coach Kathy Barger said. “We played aggressive, but we also played smart volleyball. We were able to place the ball well and execute. The girls did a nice job.”

Tribble led Reed-Custer with seven kills, while Keller had six.

“This was one of our better matches of the year,” Reed-Custer coach Alyssa Tiangco said. “Everyone stepped up and played well.

“We are pretty junior-heavy, so this is great experience for them. We will miss our seniors, but I am excited for the juniors that are coming back. A lot of them play club ball, so it’s going to be fun to see what we can do.”

In the night’s second match, Wilmington dropped a three-set decision to Pontiac, 25-21, 19-25, 25-21, to end its season with a 15-18 record.

Pontiac grabbed a quick 4-1 lead in the first set, but Wilmington answered with a kill by Clara Smith and four straight aces by Jaylee Mills to take a 6-4 advantage. After it was tied at 9, the Indians scored five straight points, including a pair of aces by Bailey Masching and a kill by Alix Robinson, one of her match-high 13. The Indians increased the lead to 22-15, but Wilmington refused to quit.

The Wildcats reeled off six straight points, the last another ace by Mills, to pull to within 22-21, but Pontiac scored the final four points, the last an ace by Mackenzie Coates.

Wilmington took control of the second set early, racing out to a 10-5 lead. After holding a 15-10 edge, the Wildcats saw Pontiac rally to take a 16-15 lead, but countered right back and outscored the Indians 10-3 the rest of the way.

In the third set, Wilmington again started quickly, moving ahead 8-5 before Pontiac tied it at 9 on a kill by Robinson and went ahead 11-9 on hitting error and a kill by Keara Smith. Wilmington was able to tie it at 17 on a kill by Bella Reyes (11 kills), but Pontiac outscored the Wildcats 8-4 to close it out, finishing with a kill by Robinson.

“We have been pretty good at serve receive all year, and we practiced it a little before we came over here,” Wilmington coach Kelly Van Duyne said. “It wasn’t that great tonight, though. Robinson is a great player for them and she had a big night.

“Our girls didn’t give up, though. They battled and stayed mentally tough. We used the momentum from the end of the first set and won the second set, but that third set was a back and forth battle and we just came up short. We have a lot of younger players and this will be good experience for them.”