Sports
Girls Volleyball: Mother McAuley Downs Stagg, Wins Regional Title
Mother McAuley 25-25, Stagg 18-14: The Mighty Macs had to work for every point in a straight-sets victory over the Chargers as they won the Class 4A regional title Thursday at Stagg.
Another regional final. Another regional title.
The thirteen-time state champion Mother McAuley (33-5) volleyball program seems to have won every regional title dating back to the stone age. But McAuley’s 25-18, 25-14 victory over Stagg on Thursday night was anything but easy.
While the Mighty Macs made playing defense look almost effortless in tracking down every ball hit to the back row, Ali Conrad (4 kills, 13 digs, 7 service points) and the Stagg offense found some holes in the middle of the floor, hitting both spikes and dinks, to keep things competitive in the first set.
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“(Attacking the middle) was something I heard from other coaches,” Stagg coach Deanna Storino said. “It’s not necessarily a weakness of McAuley, but something I thought we could attack early.”
But, still, Stagg (19-18) couldn’t keep up with the relentless pressure produced by the Mighty Macs back row and defensive specialist Jackie Aird (13 digs). In the thick of the first set, McCauley went on consecutive runs of five and six points to take control.
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McAuley then methodically put Stagg away in the second set. The Mighty Macs raced out to an early 13-7 lead, and Stagg couldn’t creep any closer for the remainder of the set.
McAuley’s junior outside hitter Sydney McPhillips had an outstanding all-around match (7 kills, 9 digs, 4 aces). With the win, the Mighty Macs advance to play in the stacked Andrew sectional, something McPhillips is looking forward to.
“I’m really looking forward to playing Marist again. They’re good competition,” McPhillips said. “We just need to keep our focus up each point. The first point is just as important as the 25th.”
Setter Courtney Joyce (27 assists, 9 digs) and hitter Lizzy Scanlon (7 kills, 6 digs) paced McAuley, while Stagg received solid efforts from Morgan Thomas (13 digs) and Jill Conrad (8 digs, 6 kills, 7 assists).
