BY PHIL BROZYNSKI -Chicago Suntimes

The Angels led 24-20 in Game 1 and 15-10 in Game 3 of the championship match against Mother McAuley, but were unable to close the deal.... The Mighty Macs closed Game 1 against the Angels on a 7-1 run, winning on a kill by Ellen Carberry, then rallied in Game 3 to defeat Joliet Catholic and win the tournament, 27-25, 17-25, 29-27.

“This team has an unbelievable amount of heart,” said McAuley setter Desiree Aramburu, who had 34 assists and seven digs in the title match. “We never give up. The heart we showed today ... it was fun.”

Tournament MVP Kelly Griffin led McAuley (27-2) with 21 kills, Jessica Falk added six kills and Sue Hayes added 17 digs.

“I felt we peaked at the Nike Challenge, then really haven’t been challenged the last two weeks,” McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said. “Today, we were on all cylinders.”

Next up the GCAC Conference Tournament and then starts the State Series!

Go Mighty Macs!

 BY TONY BARANEK -- SOUTHTOWN STAR

Kelly Griffin, yeah she was a beast.

Boo Sweeney, yeah she was scary.

Desiree Aramburu, yeah she was all over the place.

But if there was one surprising hero in No. 1 Mother McAuley's 25-13, 25-19 victory over No. 2 Marist in Thursday night's Class 4A Andrew Sectional title match, it was junior outside hitter Jessica Falk.

Falk had six kills, including three during a key run in Game 1 that helped the Mighty Macs drain some of the fight out of Marist.

Griffin finished with 10 kills and two blocks, Aramburu 27 assists, eight digs and two kills, Catherine Wildner seven kills and 10 digs, Sweeney 11 digs and Sue Hayes 15 digs for the Mighty Macs (37-2).

Mother McAuley will play Lyons Township in the Shepard Supersectional on Saturday night, the grand prize a trip to the Class 4A state semfinals in Normal.

For Marist (27-12), Jacqueline Lang had five kills, Jessica Marinec four kills, Erin Kelly eight assists and Caroline Niedospial 11 digs.

Griffin came out on fire for Mother McAuley, landing a roll shot for a kill, a shot to the back line for another, a blast off a Marist blocker for a third kill, and also putting down a block kill during a 6-2 start.

Marist, however, showed resilience, and was within 7-6 when McAuley's Falk landed a kill. Falk had two more kills during a 13-2 run that put the game away.

Falk missed a large portion of the season because of a foot injury. It was a slow process even when she returned shortly after the Rich East Invitational.

"I had to work my way back up," Falk said. "It didn't come back right away, but everybody stayed behind me and kept encouraging me."

Game 2 was closer for a lot longer, as the RedHawks didn't allow any major runs by the Mighty Macs. It was 23-19 when Paulina Sambor put down a kill. Aramburu then lined a bullet ace off a Marist defender's fists to close it.

"We got everything we could out of our girls," RedHawks coach Natalie Holder said. "We fought it out in every rally, but you've got to put the ball down. They put the ball down more than we did."

NEXT STOP ON THE JOURNEY... LT at the SUPERSECTIONALS!!!!!! 

BY TONY BARANEK Staff writer

Chalk up another one for Mother McAuley.

Another victory, its 38th of the season.

Another trip downstate, the Mighty Macs' 23rd since they made their first in 1977.

Another state volleyball trophy, which will be the school's 20th. ........

With FOCUSED INTENTIONS throughout the season the Mighty Macs are 2 matches away from realizing their final goal!

Currently the Mighty Macs are ranked 1st in the State and 8th in the National Polls.  But rankings mean nothing to this team.  It's what takes place on the court that matters.  The team will be working hard to prepare for their final 2 matches of the season and will not stop until the last point is scored.

With a season filled with achievements thus far the team should be proud!  But their final destination is still to come.

38-2 record
GCAC Red Divsion Championship
Rich East Championship
Nike Challenge 3rd Place
Glenbard East Championship
State Final Appearance

The Mighty Macs look forward to the last stop on their team journey together- NORMAL!

 MACS RUN IN PACS!

The Mighty Macs may have not gotten that 1st Place finish that they had hoped for BUT they came away with an end of the season victory by defeating Evanston High School to earn a 3rd place finish!  The Macs showed CLASS and GRACE throughout the season and the State Tournament was no exception.   Many life long friendships were made and the memories of this team will last a lifetime!

Congratulations to the players, their families and to the entire McAuley Community.   AMAZING AWAITS!!!!