St. Charles North ignored the irrelevancies. It didn’t matter that six seniors departed in the offseason. The North Stars’ 25 victories this season didn’t touch the last two years’ 30-win campaigns, but the team knows itself better than what any record would suggest.
Such familiarity showed in St. Charles North’s straight-set win (25-13, 25-19) over Burlington Central in the Class 4A Burlington Central Sectional Final on Thursday night.
“We didn’t have to build our bonds,” junior Brynn Hopkins said. “We already had such good chemistry, and that’s really what a team needs.”
The North Stars won in straight sets for the third time in 12 matches. The Rockets didn’t make it easy, jumping to a 9-5 lead with an ace from Gabby Alesi in the second frame. Hopkins responded with a pair of kills while teammate Ellie Sutter delivered her seventh kill of the match to knot the set at 10 apiece.
St. Charles North (25-14) fell behind by three before again rallying. Consecutive aces from Holly Wilson gave the North Stars a 16-14 advantage and they never looked back. Sutter finished with a team-high 10 kills, followed by Mya Mikos with seven.
“[Burlington Central] started serving more aggressively,” ...