Mother McAuley had very little success with its serving Thursday night in a Class 4A sectional final against host Sandburg.
The Mighty Macs do so many things well, however, it really didn’t matter in a 25-20, 25-16 victory that vaults them into Saturday’s Lyons Supersectional.
Ryann DeJarld had 10 kills, seven digs and two blocks; Kayla Caffey six kills and two blocks; Kelsey Clark six kills and two blocks; Carla Cahill five digs; and Courtney Joyce 26 assists, nine digs and five kills for McAuley (37-2).
Julia Borschel (10 kills), Kelly McGovern (12 digs), Sami Knight (19 assists) and Bridget Lebert (five kills) paced Sandburg (31-8).
The Mighty Macs not only hit, they hit smart.
They tipped with precision.
They dug enough to keep Sandburg from going on any serious runs.
And the quick-set that Courtney Joyce runs so well with middle Kelsey Clark? Clark had an equally quick partner.
Caffey was the real detonator for McAuley in this one, putting down four kills while adding a block as the Mighty Macs had to rally from as much as a 15-12 deficit in Game 1.
“Tonight, I guess me and Courtney just connected on a really good level and we got it done,” Caffey said.
But that wasn’t all the Mighty Macs did to withstand a majestic first-set challenge from the Eagles.
After they drew even 15-15 after an ace by Maggie Scanlon and a kill by Kennedy Arundel, the Mighty Macs went into strategic-hitting mode.
DeJarld, while in mid-air, seemed to interrupt a power-swing and instead put down a pair of soft shots.
“I’m glad I got my hitting together,” DeJarld said. “We’ll take any point we can. We’re not trying to be the hardest hitters ever. We’ll just play smart and get whatever we get.”
During the finishing kick, Joyce added a misdirection tip and Scanlon had two late key kills, the second putting the Mighty Macs ahead 24-20.
“It was a tight game, but we fought to put it away,” Scanlon said. “We had to do anything we could at that point. It was mostly just a team effort.”
The second set saw Sandburg, behind powerful and relentless hitting by Borschel and Lebert keep it close until, leading just 13-11, McAuley went on an 8-1 run.
Joyce was key with back-to-back kills (one a misdirect). DeJarld hammered three kills during the stretch, while Caffey put down the final point.
“They are a great team,” Knight said. “They are powerful hitters. That sophomore middle [Caffey], I’ll give it to her. She’s very good.
“Our seniors brought us together more than we were last year. We were just a great team together. We went in with a drive and just wanted to win so badly. Julie Borschel was fantastic, stepped up. Wow, she was really good.”
