Stevenson Wins 2nd Straight Sectional Title, Bests Lake Forest

Date: Nov. 3 - Buffalo Grove Sectional Final

The Final Score: Stevenson defeated Lake Forest, 18-25, 25-20, 25-23

Patriots' Star Performer: After leading Stevenson with 16 kills to spur a come-from-behind win over Hersey in Tuesday's Sectional semifinal, Rachel Baader logged another strong performance with 14 kills to rally the Patriots past Lake Forest.

Other Notable Patriot Performances: The Patriots' front line of 6-foot-4 Kara Maleski, 6-1 Jenna Radtke and 5-11 Michelle Schroeder wore the Scouts down.

Who's Next: Stevenson (31-8) advances to the Super-Sectional against either Cary or Huntley at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lake Zurich High School. The winner advances to the State semifinals on Nov. 11 at Illinois State University in Normal.

The Bottom Line: The Scouts started off like a team with a mission, jumping to a 9-3 advantage in Game 1. Stevenson rallied to close the gap to 13-11, but Lake Forest answered with a five-point outburst to earn an 18-13 edge and were never threatened again in posting a 25-18 win. In Game 2, after the two teams were tied four times in the early going, Stevenson went on a four-point tear to lead 13-9 and never lost the lead again, winning 25-20. In the deciding game, Lake Forest came out strong again to gain a 9-5 lead. However, the Patriots answered this time, scoring six of the next eight points to forge a tie at 11, and secure a 13-11 lead. Stevenson never led by more than three points and used one of Baader's kills in the match to stake a 22-20 lead. But the Scouts rallied when the Patriots' Schroeder served into the net and Lake Forest's Mary Striedl blocked Baader's spike to tie the score at 22-22. Baader came back with another kill, but Lake Forest tied the score again at 23 on Jennifer Kreb's block. The Patriots went back in front and Lake Forest hit the last return out of  bounds to close the match.