ST. CHARLES EAST ADVANCES TO 4A TITLE MATCH

Last season, St. Charles East won its final match of the season to finish third Downstate.

"We've beat what we did last year and that's very cool and I'm proud of them," said St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull, whose team won a state title in 2001. "I know we are young and we said that at the beginning of the season. That was one of the things that concerned us. People call me a sandbagger, but you never know what you have. Obviously, today our older kids stepped up and really did a nice job."

St. Charles East used a little bit of old blood and new blood to knock off the Wildkits (30-11). Senior Haley Streich, who entered the State Finals third on the team in kills, had a night to remember, registering a team-high 11 kills. Junior Caroline Niski added 10 slams and freshman Meghan Niski and junior Jacqui Seidel both chipped in seven kills apiece.

"Especially with our younger girls I thought we (came) out nervous," Streich said. "Once we got it, we just all wanted to get the job done."

St. Charles East trailed 21-16 in Game 1 before three straight Evanston errors gave the Saints new life. East would eventually tie the game at 22 after a kill each by Meghan Niski and Seidel. St. Charles East later pulled ahead 24-23, but Evanston answered with a kill to tie it again. However, East was able to close things out with back-to-back kills by Streich and Caroline Niski.

"For some reason we like to come from behind," said Kull, who has coached four of the school's six state-qualifying teams in her 12 seasons. "That's what we've done all season and we don't get nervous anymore. They are comfortable with that. Sometimes it's just about settling in, finding a rhythm and knowing they can do it."

East started strong in Game 2, pulling ahead 4-0 on a kill by Meghan Niski. Evanston battled back to tie it at 4, setting off a brief back-and-forth affair.

The Saints later took control, building on a 9-8 lead to pull ahead 18-12 before the Wildkits called a timeout. Evanston made one last brief run to get within 23-19, but East held on, finishing things out with another kill by Meghan Niski.

"I thought our back row did really well," Meghan Niski said. "Our defense and our sets were really good and it was really easy for me to just hit the ball down. I just wanted to make plays and play really hard."

East senior Laura Homann, who entered the State Finals with more than 1,000 assists for the second straight season, had 31 helpers on this night. Seidel added 11 digs.