Post-Season Showdowns: Regional Final Matches in 4A to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 4A brings some of the best competition in Illinois and this regular season showed exactly that. There is a lot of talent in the 135 teams who found themselves in the playoff bracket and began their play on earlier this week on Monday. After the regional semi-finals took place on Tuesday, there are now only 64 teams standing and are preparing for their Regional Championship matches on Thursday. Here are the top 3 matches to follow on Thursday as the fight for a 4A state championship continues: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Naperville North</em> hosts <em>Plainfield North</em> Thursday at 6:00 pm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Naperville North and Plainfield North have seen each other once this season already which was about a week and a half ago when Naperville North took the win in a close three-set match in the championship of Plainfield Central's Annual Blocktoberfest tournament. In their previous match, [player_tooltip player_id='225761' first='Lauren' last='Jansen'] led the offense for Plainfield North with 18 kills, but the team still fell short losing the third set 11-15. Even though they didn't come out on top the last time they saw Naperville North, that doesn't mean the result is going to be the same this time around. The plays and athletic comparison will be close throughout the entire match on Thursday and you can also expect a considerable amount of offensive production from Plainfield's junior outside hitter, Ella Maletich. Combined, the South Dakota State outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='225761' first='Lauren' last='Jansen'] and Ella, added 25 kills against Naperville North. Maletich has accumulated 205 kills in this 2022 season and is looking to contribute more. I would expect Plainfield North to come back fighting for the win after Naperville North took the championship match earlier this month. On the other side of the net, a senior setter, Natalie Corcoran is going to do anything she can to keep her team playing into sectionals. She does a great job giving confidence in each of her hitters and is quick to find them to put the ball away. On top of their high-producing outside hitters, if Naperville North manages to stay in system, Corcoran's connection with junior middle blocker Simi Kapustova could quickly cause some trouble on Plainfield North's side of the net. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Glenbard West</em> vs. <em>Wheaton North</em> Thursday at 6:00 pm (Hosted by Downers Grove South)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a while since Glenbard West and Wheaton North played against each other. After a three-set win by Wheaton North in the first week of the season at their home tournament, both Glenbard West and Wheaton North have taken off with their regular season play. Glenbard West lost only by three in the third set of that match, making this regional match an exciting one to watch with the expectation that it'll be a close match. [player_tooltip player_id='135948' first='Marin' last='Johnson'], a junior outside hitter for Glenbard West is going to be the biggest threat to Wheaton North. Johnson's height puts her at an advantage when she is up against some bigger blockers, but on top of her height, she has great vision of the court allowing her to put the ball wherever she sees open. The 6'2" outside hitter uses her athleticism in the backcourt just as smoothly as she does in the front row. Next to her in the back row, senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='225830' first='Demi' last='Carpio']'s great defensive mentality keeps Glenbard West in a rally with any team they play against. Through her success this season, Carpio has climbed her way to the top five in Glenbard West history for career digs succeeding 1,000 career digs by now. Carpio will be a huge piece in keeping Glenbard West in the game Thursday with every intention of adding to her career digs and winning another opportunity to put on that Hilltopper jersey again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong> <em>Huntley High School</em> vs. <em>Harlem High School</em> Thursday 10/27 at 6:00 pm (Hosted by McHenry High School)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Huntley has had quite the season and is looking to extend the season with every opportunity they are given. As the second seed in their side of the regional bracket, they will be set to play the 5th seeded Harlem High School, who upset McHenry on Tuesday night. In Huntley's semi-final match on Tuesday, they controlled the court with even distribution of their offense which is run by senior setter, [player_tooltip player_id='138664' first='Maggie' last='Duyos'] who had 18 assists in the two-set match. [player_tooltip player_id='225754' first='Avary' last='DeBlieck'], a senior middle blocker, and [player_tooltip player_id='225759' first='Allyson' last='Panzloff'], a senior outside hitter contributed a combined 14 kills, with Deblieck leading the pack and putting away 8 kills. Panzloff is the offensive leader for Huntley with 200 kills on the season. However, if we are putting the distribution of their offense into perspective, the next highest for kills this season is sophomore outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='207810' first='Georgia' last='Watson'], with 187 kills, and following that is junior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='135959' first='Morgan' last='Jones'] with 178 kills on the season. Additionally, Huntley's aggressive serving is a huge part of what has brought them to a successful 29-6 record for the season, and that was seen on Tuesday with 5 aces from [player_tooltip player_id='135959' first='Morgan' last='Jones'] and three more from Luma Acevedo. Their ball control as well as winning the serve and pass game throughout these playoff matches is what will keep them performing at the high level they have been competing at all season. On the other side of the net, you will catch Bria Johnston, a senior outside hitter to lead Harlem's attacking production with her fast arm and heavy arm. Johnston leads the team in kills per set with 2.9k/s with her heavy arm and great competitive personality.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->