It was a long time coming for Rosary — 38 years to be exact. But the Royals weren’t going to let it get away.
Rosary jumped out early in both games Thursday and cruised to a 25-21, 25-17 victory over Glenbard South in the championship match of the Class 3A Montini Sectional.
It’s just the second sectional title for the program and the first since 1978, when athletic director Mary Lou Kunold coached the team.
Setter Julia Gauthier, an Indiana recruit who had 18 assists, said senior-dominated Rosary was on a mission.
“We were like, ‘If this team is better or worse than us, we’re going to play our game as strong as we possibly can,'” she said. “Nothing is getting in the way of this game. This is our game and we’re going to do everything possible to take this home.”
The win sends Rosary (27-12) to a 1 p.m. match at the Marian Central Supersectional in Woodstock. The Royals will play the host and defending 3A state champion Hurricanes, who defeated Carmel 25-23, 25-19 for the Woodstock Sectional final.
The strong serving of senior libero and Marquette commit Martha Konovodoff helped Rosary jump to a 3-0 lead in the first game and 4-0 in the second.
“Some people think serving is just putting the ball in play, but you have to focus on where to put it,” Gauthier said. “You want to put it in a position tha is going to benefit your side and put the other side at a disadvantage.
“Martha is really good at that because she is really good at pinpointing her serve, and it’s also the hardest on our team. When she goes back there, I feel like we’re going to rack up points.”
Konovodoff, who had seven aces in Tuesday’s semifinal win over Fenwick, added two more in Game 1. She also had 13 digs.
“I thought her serving and defense were key for us,” Rosary coach Rachel Fox said of Konovodoff. Anything that came over on this side of the court was really easy for her to pick up and that makes it a lot easier for our setter to do a good job.
“One of their better hitters was their middle and they weren’t able to use her much because of our serving,”
Gauthier fed 6-foot-2 middle and Iowa State commit Meegan Hart for a match-high nine kills. Lauren Brummel added six kills and Erin Burke had four. Madeline Bryan contributed three kills and three assists.
Bailee Flanagan had four kills to lead the Raiders (23-16).
“That’s the best middle (hitter) we’ve faced all year,” Glenbard South coach Chad Grant said of Hart. “They had too much firepower.”
Twitter @RickArmstrong28
