4A Volleyball: Mother McAuley Places 3rd in State Tournament

Ryann DeJarld and Courtney Joyce came up big in Mother McAuley's straight-sets victory over Libertyville in the third-place match at the Class 4A state volleyball tournament.

Ryann DeJarld did much of the dirty work at the net. Courtney Joyce distributed the ball. The two combined to lead Mother McAuley in a 25-22, 25-22 victory over Libertyville in the third-place match at the Class 4A state volleyball tournament Saturday in Normal. The Mighty Macs (36-5) were paced by DeJarld's eight kills and eight digs. Kelly Clarke added six kills. Joyce chipped in 22 assists, 12 digs and three kills. Michelle Konecki added 13 digs. Libertyville (34-8) was led by Julia Smagacz's seven kills. Cindy Zhou had 16 assits. The third-place finish for Mother McAuley equaled the Mighty Macs' effort in 2008 Mother McAuley placed second in 2007. Benet Academy defeated New Trier 21-25, 25-22, 25-17 to win the Class 4A state …

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UPDATE: Oak Forest's Kyle Hullinger is Patch MVP

Oak Forest football standout Kyle Hullinger outpolled 10 others in voting for Southland Patch's MVP, Oct. 22-28. Hullinger is now eligible for Patch Athlete of the Month honors.

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

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Patch MVP: Last Day to Vote For Darius, Courtney

Oak Lawn's Darius Smith and McAuley's Courtney Joyce are in the running for Patch's MVP, Sept. 9-16.

UPDATE: Bloom Township's Justus Brantley is Patch MVP

Bloom Township's Justus Brantley ran wild in the Blazing Trojans' football victory over Fenton. He also stood tall in voting for Patch's MVP, Sept. 9-16. Brantley is now eligible for Patch Athlete of the Month honors.

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

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Girls Volleyball: Mother McAuley Downs Stagg, Wins Regional Title

Mother McAuley 25-25, Stagg 18-14: The Mighty Macs had to work for every point in a straight-sets victory over the Chargers as they won the Class 4A regional title Thursday at Stagg.

Another regional final. Another regional title.   The thirteen-time state champion Mother McAuley (33-5) volleyball program seems to have won every regional title dating back to the stone age. But McAuley’s 25-18, 25-14 victory over Stagg on Thursday night was anything but easy.  While the Mighty Macs made playing defense look almost effortless in tracking down every ball hit to the back row, Ali Conrad (4 kills, 13 digs, 7 service points) and the Stagg offense found some holes in the middle of the floor, hitting both spikes and dinks, to keep things competitive in the first set.   “(Attacking the middle) was something I heard from other coaches,” Stagg coach Deanna Storino said. “It’s not necessarily a weakness of McAuley, but something I…

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Mother McAuley Volleyball: Mighty Macs Fall in Three-Set Thriller to Joliet Catholic Academy

After coming back to win the second game, the Mighty Macs were unable to stop JCA from pulling away in the third in a season-opening battle between perennial powerhouses.

For any sports team, the first game or match of the season will bring some opening-night jitters. Combine that with an opponent who was the IHSA Class 3A state runner-up last season, and it almost certainly won’t be a stress-free season opener. With a playoff-like atmosphere at Mother McAuley’s home gym, the Mighty Macs played Joliet Catholic Academy to a tough three-set match in their 2011 debut. But after splitting two tightly contested games, Joliet Catholic pulled away to a 25-11 win over Mother McAuley in Game 3. “It was a typical first match of the season, a lot of missed serves, not a lot of communication and silly things happening,” McAuley coach Jennifer DeJarld said. “ Both teams were shaky at the start, committing several …

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