Downers Grove North's volleyball season ended Monday, Nov. 9, with a 25-12, 19-25, 25-22 loss to Mother McAuley in the Class 4A Lyons Supersectional.
The Trojans didn't go quietly. After McAuley rolled through the first set, DGN stormed back to take the second and held a 20-19 lead late in the third before the Mighty Macs scored four straight points to take the lead for good, as Shaw Local first reported.
Senior outside hitter Nicole Liu led all players with 17 kills. She pounded consecutive kills off assists from junior setter Ellery Cabaj to give DGN that late third-set lead. McAuley responded with the decisive run. Junior middle Samantha Hancock erased the Mighty Macs' first match point with a block, but McAuley senior Jayce Prohaska ended the match with a back-row kill.
The Trojans' defense kept them in the match. Cabaj recorded 25 digs, senior libero Angelika Krob added 16, Liu had 12 and senior outside hitter Brynne Burkhart posted 10. In the third set, DGN trailed 10-2 before clawing back. Cabaj and Burkhart each served two aces, with Burkhart's back-to-back serves tying the set at 16-16.
"It's the agony of defeat when you're that close," DGN head coach Mark Wasik said, according to Shaw Local. He said he told his players they could look back at the scores and see who else challenged McAuley the way they did.
In the second set, Liu seized control. The Trojans trailed 5-4 before three straight kills from Liu gave DGN the lead for good. The set win forced a decisive third, where the Trojans nearly completed another comeback.
Mother McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said she was not surprised by DGN's fight. Wasik and assistant coach Erin Moore were assistant coaches at McAuley in the early 2000s, according to Shaw Local.
The loss closed a breakthrough season for the Trojans, who finished 29-10. DGN won its fifth sectional title in program history and first since 2018, rallying from a set down to beat Glenbard West in the sectional final. The team also captured its third straight regional title.
Monday marked the final match for four senior starters. In addition to Liu and Krob, Burkhart had seven kills and five service points, and Sienna Shelton contributed five kills. Liu, DGN's team captain, does not plan to play volleyball in college. She intends to study chemical engineering or neuroscience at Illinois, according to Shaw Local's sectional coverage.
Cabaj, Hancock, sophomore setter Madi Mastalarz and junior middle Evelyn Pundmann return next season. The Trojans have reached at least the sectional final in each of Cabaj's first three seasons.
