DePaul Prep Volleyball Going to State; Defeats St. Laurence

DePaul Prep girls’ volleyball team defeated St. Laurence in three sets, 21-25, 25-15, 25-21, in tonight’s IHSA 3A Super-sectional at Hinsdale South high school. Rams advance to the state championship tournament Friday and Saturday at the CEFCU Arena, (formerly known as Redbird Arena), in Normal.

The Rams improve their remarkable record to 37-3 and avenge their October 3rd loss at the hands of St. Laurence. St. Laurence may be the best team that DePaul Prep has faced this season. Hinsdale South was full of loud Ram and Viking fans. Easily the most exciting volleyball match that I have attended.

The Rams dropped the first set after falling behind early. They fought but could not get all the way back and dropped the first set 21-25. They don’t get down. They believe in themselves. They showed it after falling behind in the first set in the St. Ignatius match and then battling back to win.

In the second set, the Rams grabbed and early lead and built on it in typical fashion ultimately winning 25-15.

The third set was very stressful. Back and forth. After being tied at 16, the Rams built a small lead and took the match 25-21 in the third set.

Still another state tournament for DePaul Prep.

The Rams will face the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs (37-3) on Friday at 4:00 p.m., in the 3A semi-final. The Rams and Bulldogs had no common opponents this year. The Bulldogs lost to Champaign Central (3A) and Normal West (4A) in September and Effingham (3A) on October 17th. Mahomet-Seymour high school is located in Mahomet, Illinois, which is about 12 miles northwest of Champaign.

The other 3A semi-final will feature Prairie Ridge from Crystal Lake and Limestone from Bartonville.

St. Laurence Falls to Marist 49-44 in OT

The Vikings hung around and hung around and hung around. When that happens, you know what happens. This time it was overtime but the Marist Redhawks survived 49-44.