Girls Volleyball: Sandburg gearing up for postseason
By Randy Whalen
Correspondent
If Sandburg is going to return to Lockport for the Class 4A sectional, it will need an effort like it produced last week.
The Eagles lost to the Porters, 25-23, 26-28, 26-24, on Oct. 6 in a SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue Division clash at Lockport, but in doing so showed they can compete with the top teams.
“We are a never-give-up team,” Sandburg coach David Vales said. “We don’t get down on ourselves. We have been giant-killers this season.”
The Eagles handed Lyons its first loss of the season on Sept. 9, and beat Marist on Sept. 14 and Oak Park-River Forest on Sept. 17.
“We don’t have a lot of height, but our hashtag this season is #onemore, for one more point,” Vales said.
Unfortunately for the Eagles (16-12, 5-2 entering this week), they couldn’t get one more point in the third set against the Porters.
Trailing 19-17, they rallied with six straight points for a 23-19 lead. After the Porters answered with four straight points to tie the score, a kill by Eagles junior outside hitter Madi Mulhausen (four kills) put Sandburg a point from victory.
Lockport, however, scored the final three points to defeat the Eagles in conference play for the third straight season.
“I thought both teams played great and it was really good competition,” said junior middle hitter Elise Sterling said. “I think we can still beat them. We can play at a higher potential.”
That positive attitude allowed the Eagles to rally from 22-17 down in the second set. Senior outside hitter Claire Hildebrand had two kills and a block in the set-ending 11-4 spurt, Mulhausen had a trio of kills and junior setter Kiera Fitzgerald (15 assists, 13 digs, five aces) added a pair of aces. Junior libero Reilly Chausse added 18 digs.
In a 25-15, 25-20 victory over host Homewood-Flossmoor in an SWSC match on Oct. 4, Hildebrand led the way with five kills and six digs. Fitzgerald had 13 assists and seven digs, and senior right side hitter Gabby Gasior garnered four kills.
Since Vales has been coaching at Sandburg, his teams have had an amazing streak of success. On the girls side, the Eagles have captured 14 straight regional championships — 17 straight overall — in which during seasons in which playoffs have been held. Vales’ boys teams have won 12 regionals in his 13 seasons, losing only to Lockport in the 2018 regional final.
The Eagles, seeded fifth in the Lockport Sectional, fully expect another regional title this fall. They could face No. 4 seed Lincoln-Way Central in the regional title match. The Knights won the two earlier meetings this season.
“The goal is to always get another one,” Sterling said of a regional championship. “And then go from there.”
Sandburg is in the Rich Township Regional and will open postseason play against Thornwood at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. The regional championship match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 at Rich South.
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