Girls Volleyball: Sandburg Tops L-W North in Battle for Regional Championship

For the , it was another step in their journey through the season. For the , it was a chance to topple one of the premier programs in girls volleyball and prove that the youthful Phoenix could hang with the best in the area and state.

At the Class 4A Crete Monee Regional, the Phoenix and Eagles met in the championship match on Thursday in a showdown to advance to the Andrew Sectional. As the match progressed, it was Sandburg, with the team's power shots and stingy defense, that came out on top in two games (25-18, 25-18) in front of a raucous crowd.

“We were really aggressive from the get-go and kind of picked up with the intensity of the crowd; we kind of rode that out,” Eagles coach David Vales said.

Throughout the night, Eagles' junior outside hitter Dakota Hampton found herself in the middle of the action, as she powered the Eagles with 10 kills, three blocks and three aces. The junior was the spark to ignite the Eagles' engine and she made sure she, and her teammates, had their foot on the gas against the Phoenix.

“I get really excited before the game and that's what drives me to try to get every ball and want every ball,” Hampton said.

In Game 1, the Eagles used an 8-1 run to go up 17-10 and effectively shut the door on the the Phoenix . In Game 2, Sandburg jumped all over North early, posting a 13-6 lead before the Phoenix knew what hit them. A North timeout when the team was down 17-9 sparked a small rally, but the Eagles rallied out of their own timeout to pull away for the win and the regional championship.

“It may be a good thing that we had to go through that mental little jog there, to say, 'Let's just regroup,' ” Vales said. “I called a timeout, (we) took maybe one play to get it back and we were able to finish it out.”

The loss ended North's season with a 21-16 overall record for the young squad. North coach Mary Brown said that though the season had it's ups and downs, she was proud of her team.

“They were very coach-able kids, they worked hard and we definitely improved,” Brown said. “This is probably one of the most improved teams I've ever coached.”

Sandburg improved to 31-6 on the year and will play next in the Andrew High School Sectional on Tuesday, Nov. 2, against at 7 p.m.