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 Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena will be the site of the 2013 IHSA Girls Volleyball State Finals on Friday and Saturday, November 15-16. State champions will be crowned in four classes at the 40th edition of the IHSA State Finals, which also marks the seventh year of the four-class series and 24th time that ISU will host the event. All 16 matches will be broadcast live on the NFHS Network at www.IHSA.tv.
The four state championships matches will also be replayed on Comcast SportsNet Chicago on Saturday, November 23 (1A-2:30pm, 2A-4:00pm, 3A-7:00pm, 4A-8:30pm).
All four state champions from a year ago return to the field in 2013, as Rockford’s Keith Country Day (1A), Deer Creek-Mackinaw (2A), Wheaton St. Francis (3A) and Benet Academy (4A) have all qualified again. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the spectrum are New Athens (1A) and Fieldcrest (2A), who are both making their first state final trips in school history. New Trier placed second a year ago in Class 4A and gets a semifinal rematch on Friday with the state’s most successful program of all-time, 13-time state champion Mother McAuley.
Stewardson-Strasburg (1A) makes its first state final appearance since 1995 after the school reached state eight times over the course of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Crystal Lake Central (4A) was also in the 1995 state tourney and qualified a year later in 1996, but hasn’t made it back until now. Breese Central is back in the tournament after a one year hiatus and will be in 3A for its 11th state final trip after qualifying in 2A in 2011. Payton also returns after a two-year hiatus, as the Grizzlies are making their third state final appearance in the past six seasons.
Class 2A’s Edwards County is the only undefeated team entering the tournament and equally impressive as the 40-0 record is the fact that head coach Linda Oxby, West Prairie coach Teri Paul (1A), IC Catholic coach Jean Field (2A) and LaSalle-Peru coach Mark Haberkorn (3A) have combined to coach over 100 seasons, accumulating over 3,000 career victories.
CLASS 1A
KEITH COUNTRY DAY (37-3) vs. WEST PRAIRIE (30-6-2)
NEW ATHENS (28-9) vs. STEWARDSON-STRASBURG (27-12)
Defending champ Keith Country Day returns several key players from a year ago, but none bigger than 6-2 senior Adeja Lambert (220 kills). West Prairie features a balanced offense that has five upperclassmen (4 seniors) who have recorded 100 kills or more this season. First-time qualifier New Athens has done so behind a young group that has only one senior on the entire roster. Stew-Stras’ double-digit losses are deceiving, as most have come to 3A/4A teams or 1A/2A teams that have made deep postseason runs.
CLASS 2A
DEER CREEK-MACKINAW (36-1) vs. IC CATHOLIC (34-6)
FIELDCREST (33-4-1) vs. EDWARDS COUNTY (40-0)
Deer Creek-Mackinaw has a new coach leading its title defense, but senior Kyleigh Block, who had a team-high nine kills in the 2012 state title match returns. IC Catholic has rattled off 15 straight wins, with its last loss coming on October 7 against 3A state qualifier St. Francis. Cathy Sanders has quickly turned Fieldcrest into a contender, as the program has gone from seven wins in her first season in 2009 to 33 this year. Edwards County placed fourth a year ago and will look to reverse its fortunes at Redbird in 2013 with a veteran group.
CLASS 3A
PAYTON (27-11) vs. LASALLE-PERU (34-3)
BREESE CENTRAL (35-5) vs. ST. FRANCIS (37-3)
Payton has placed fourth in each of its previous state final appearances and hopes the third time will be the charm and a chance to play for a state championship. LaSalle-Peru is in the midst of its sixth season with 30 wins or more since 2006 and is also looking for its first title game appearance in school history.
Breese Central enters the state tourney on a tear and will win head coach Jim Cook’s fourth state title if they can extend their win streak to 21 matches. St. Francis returns most of its key cogs from last year’s title team and has only lost to Class 4A qualifier Mother McAuley this season.
CLASS 4A
CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH (37-3) vs. BENET ACADEMY (35-5)
MOTHER MCAULEY (38-2) vs. NEW TRIER (30-3)
Crystal Lake South is restoring a tradition of excellence, as the Tigers reached the state tournament five times from 1991 to 1996, but are also looking to make their mark with the school’s first state championship. Two-time defending state champ Benet has reloaded in 2013, as nearly every starter from a year ago was lost to graduation. New Trier and Mother McAuley lock horns in the semis for the second straight year after last year’s thriller, which saw the Trevians rally to take the final two games after the Mighty Macs dominated the first set (25-16).
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SITE
Redbird Arena (Normal)
Directions
SCHEDULE
Friday, November 15
Session 1
Class 1A Semifinals
Keith Country Day vs.
West Prairie - 9:00 a.m.
New Athens vs.
Stewardson-Strasburg - after match 1
Class 2A Semifinals
Deer Creek-Mackinaw vs. IC Catholic - after match 2
Fieldcrest vs. Edwards County - after match 3
Session 2
Class 3A Semifinals
Payton vs.
LaSalle-Peru - 4:30 p.m.
Breese Central vs. St. Francis - after match 5
Class 4A Semifinals
Crystal Lake South vs. Benet - after match 6
Mother McAuley vs.
New Trier- after match 7
Saturday, November 16
Session 3
Class 1A Finals
Third-Place - 9:00 a.m.
Championship - after 3rd place match
Class 2A Finals
Third-Place - after 1A championship match
Championship - after 3rd place match
Session 4
Class 3A Finals
Third-Place - 4:30 p.m.
Championship - after 3rd place match
Class 4A Finals
Third-Place - after 3A championship match
Championship - after 3rd place match
WATCH
All matches available live on www.IHSA.tv
Rebroadcast on CSN Chicago on Nov. 23
LISTEN
WCAZ 990AM (Carthage)
West Prairie only
Internet Broadcast
WMCI 92.1FM (Mattoon)
Stewardson-Strasburg only
Internet Broadcast
Edwards County Sports
Edwards County only
Internet Only Broadcast
WLPO 1220AM/103.9FM (LaSalle) - LaSalle-Peru only
Internet Broadcast
WCXO 96.7FM (Carlyle)
Breese Central only
SportsTown Chicago
All matches
Internet Broadcast Only
RESULTS & LIVE STATS
IHSA Girls Volleyball Page
TICKETS
$8 per session
INTERACT
Twitter Coverage:
@IHSAState #IHSA
Facebook Page
Photos
HISTORY & RECORDS
2013 IHSA State Series
Record Book & Past Champions
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