One of the most improbable girls volleyball teams to make it to the Elite Eight in any class this season is Nazareth.
Not only were the Roadrunners 3-31 last season, first-year coach Esai Velez witnessed the pain multiplying by opening the season with five straight losses to Class 4A powers such as Mother McAuley, St. Laurence and Lockport.
That was 36 losses in 39 matches.
Then what happened?
“I don’t know,” Velez said. “The universe and the stars collided.
“I’m not a person who gives out false hope but I told the players these games were going to help us to get better.”
Did they ever.
After finishing the regular season 15-19 and on a two-game losing streak, the Roadrunners won a pair of regional matches over Acero-Garcia and Kennedy and opened the Class 3A Timothy Christian Sectional on Nov. 4 with a stunning 26-24, 25-18 win over the top-seeded hosts.
Timothy entered the match with a 29-5 record and finished third in the state in Class 2A last season.
“We prepared so hard for that match,” Velez said. “As a teacher, I used my planning time to watch videos of Timothy Christian. All the players were into it. We watched film and we established a culture of what we need to do and how we were going to play against them.
“What we did was no secret. We watched a lot of film and we prepared very well.”
Two nights later, Geneva was on the docket and Velez was worried about a letdown.
But the Roadrunners once again pulled off another big win, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, and students celebrated with the players.
“There has been excitement for all of our players,” Velez said.
Talia Surendran had 12 kills to lead the Roadrunners in the Geneva match while Madeline Briscoe had 19 assists and Tess Tortorello 13 digs.
Beth Surowiec and Surendran each had five kills against Timothy Christian.
Velez may be a first-year coach at the LaGrange Park school, but he has plenty of experience, including a head-coaching stint at Division I Iona and assistant gigs at Hofstra and Lewis.
The Roadrunners were scheduled to face Fenwick Nov. 10 at the De La Salle Supersectional.
Knights in Elite Eight
Quinn Grevengoed slammed 26 kills and L’Rae White added 16 as Chicago Christian’s volleyball team won the Class 2A Peotone Sectional with a wild 17-25, 25-23, 25-17 victory over Pontiac on Nov. 6. It was the Knights’ sixth straight sectional title.
Chicago Christian (29-10) is seeking its first state appearance since taking third in 2021. The Knights were scheduled to face Riverdale (25-10-1) in the Mendota Sectional on Nov. 10.
De La Salle, St. Laurence and Lyons were area regional champs stopped in sectional play.
Lions roar in swim sectional
Lyons’ swimmers and divers won the Hinsdale Central Sectional with 303.5 points, eight ahead of the runner-up hosts.
Dylan Jorgensen (200-yard individual medley), Brynn Krantz (diving), Maeve Collins (100 butterfly) and Liv Joern (100 breast) won individual titles.
At the Lockport Sectional, Sandburg’s Vivian Gumienny won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.