Post-Season Showdowns: Regional Final Matches in 2A to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We have officially made it to the post-season after the grind of the regular season for high school teams in Illinois. Post-Season playoffs are the perfect opportunity to redefine your regular season record and make a name for your team and program. With over 150 programs that compete in Class 2A made it onto the playoff bracket. Already, more than half of those teams' seasons have come to a close, leaving only 64 teams competing for a regional title on Thursday, October 27th. As the bracket continues to narrow itself down, here are the top 3 matches in Class 2A that can change the course of their sectional bracket, and you don't want to miss out on watching:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Monmouth-Roseville</em> hosts <em>Macomb</em> Thursday 10/27 at 6:00 pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Macomb will be matched-up against Monmouth-Roseville Thursday night. While they might not be playing on their own court, that won't stop them from pursuing this match. After a successful weekend at the Quincy Notre Dame tournament, Macomb will be ready to compete, no matter where they find themselves playing. Senior outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='195451' first='Kennedy' last='Adair'] is expected to take hold of the offense for Macomb with her dynamic 6 rotation play. Adair puts away an average of 4.5 kills per set in her play thus far and will most likely put away double-digit kills in the match. The Western Illinois Commit has a fast arm swing and great tracking of the set to get her arm on the ball fast which has led to her becoming the leader in kills this season with 317. Macomb and Monmouth-Roseville saw each other earlier this season in a close two-set match, the scores being 25-21 and 25-22, with Macomb taking the win. In their previous match-up, [player_tooltip player_id='195451' first='Kennedy' last='Adair'] put away nine kills and hit with an efficiency of 0.231. Junior middle hitter, Brianna Woodard will be the one the Macomb will look to slow down as Woodard has a huge offensive presence for Monmouth-Roseville. She has put away 206 kills on the season and will be looking to chip those points off of Macomb. The biggest focus for Monmouth-Roseville will be to win the serve and pass game against Macomb, this way they can keep their offense in system and find Woodard in the middle as much as possible. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Timothy Christian</em> hosts <em>Montini Catholic</em> Thursday 10/27 at 6:00 pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming out of the Chicago (Christ the King) Sectional, Timothy will host Montini Catholic Thursday night for the regional championship title. Montini has competed all season with one of the hardest schedules in Illinois, stacking their 4A matches against powerful teams and preparing them for this postseason play. As the defending Class 2A state champions, Montini might have a new look to their team but have every intention of making it down to the state tournament. The match-up with Timothy Christian will be a tough match for both teams, as both sides will be seeing some great offensive production. Timothy Christian's biggest threat is a sophomore outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='203428' first='Abby' last='Vander Wal']. The 6'3" attacker is leading the team's offense with 395 kills as she enters post-season play. She averages 5 kills per set with the way she utilizes her many shots and great court vision which helps her put the ball anywhere on the court. On the other side of the net, senior setter and opposite attacker, [player_tooltip player_id='138653' first='Jordan' last='Heatherly'] will put the power and pressure back on Timothy forcing them to defend anything she throws at them. Heatherly has 467 kills on the season right now averaging 6.2 kills per set. Whether it's from the back row and being an offensive option or front row, Jordan's overall range and athleticism will cause some problems for Timothy Christian. Backing her up in the backcourt, Sophia Boumans wears the libero jersey for Montini with her consistency in giving their setters quality balls on both serve receive and defense. Boumans has racked up 361 digs on the season and her ability to cover as much court as possible makes it hard for opponents to avoid her. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Wesclin High School</em> hosts <em>Mater Dei Catholic</em> Thursday 10/27 at 6:00 pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mater Dei Catholic who holds the number one seed in the Mater Dei Sectional is set up to face the host school for the regional finals and 4th seed, Wesclin High School. Mater Dei currently has a 27-8 record on the season after the regional semi-final win Tuesday night against Marquette Catholic. Mater Dei's setter, Addison Nenninger does a great job of distributing the offense for her hitters and finding her hitters and putting them in a position to score. As only a freshman, she has taken on a huge role for the team with the way she has taken complete control of the offense. Nenninger leads the team in assists with 359 on the season. She has grown to run the court and play bigger and older than she is which has kept Mater Dei on track this season. 6'5" middle blocker, Alyssa Koerkenmeier, has been another piece of the puzzle for Mater Dei. It is no doubt that her height might be the first thing your notice, but her demeanor on the court as only a sophomore shows how promising her future in the program and for the team's success the deeper into playoffs they go. As another high-performing underclassman, Alyssa is one of the leaders on the team for kills on the season with 188. While her opportunities as a middle might be limited based on how in system the team is, Alyssa has taken full advantage of her blocking skills and height and taken hold of the leader in blocking for the team with 128 blocks on the season. She averages 1.6 blocks per set which shows how well she uses her physicality to take hold of the team's success. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->