The Mighty Macs are back with a vengence. In the last 2 weeks the Mother McAuley Mighty Macs have proven their skills in all levels of play. The JV Team earned top honors in the Nike Preview Tournament by defeating top quality Varsity Teams. The Macs finished 2nd in their pool play by defeating Byron and Richards before stumbling in a well played 3 game match against St. Ignatius-taking this 1 game from St. Ignatius earned them the 2nd place slot in the Gold Division. In the Semi's the JV stood up to the presure in McAuley fashion and defeated Cary Grove the #1 Seed in the tournament. In the Championship match the Mighty Macs met up with Southtown's # 6 ranked team Lincoln-Way Central winning by scores of 25-21, 22-25, 25-18 and were crowned tournament Champs.
This past weekend the Frosh A team earned the championship crown in their trip to the Lockport Tournament by defeating Joliet Catholic in a thrilling 3 game match.
The Varsity Team is currently on the move and have earned their 4 straight Rich East Championship. This is the 19th Championship for the Macs at Rich East and the tradition of champions continues. The Mighty Macs tackled Lyons Township, Andrew and Belleville Altoff to earn a Semi Final match up against Marist HS. The Mighty Macs avenged 2 of their 3 setbacks that occurred in the first 2 weeks of the season by defeating Marist by scores of 25-16, 25-6 and the Downers Grove South by scores of 18-25, 25-21 and 25-17.
The Mighty Macs are finding their groove and will hopefully take the momentum into this weeks Nike Challege.
The Macs meet up with pre season #1 Nationally Ranked Assumption from Kentucky on Thursday night in a pre-tournament contest.
The Challege is about to begin! Come see the action! Pool Play begins Friday night Sept 28th at 5:30. Pool play sites used for the event are Mother McAuley, Marian Catholic and Palos Courts. Saturday play continues beginning at 9:00am at McAuley, Br Rice and Palos Courts. This is historically one of the best High School tournaments in the Country. Come out and cheer on the Mighty Macs!
A lot has taken place in the last few weeks.
In the Autumnfest Tournament the team struggled in their Quarterfinal matchup vs Hononegah going 3 games and not coming out on top. They then regrouped and finished off Crystal Lake South. In the 5th Place matchup against Benet- they again had a 2nd temporary setback in the event dropping the match and finishing in 6th place overall.
Since then the Macs have been moving forward- learning from mistakes and gathering STRENGTH coming into the last leg of the their season JOURNEY!
The have captured the GCAC Championship for the 28th time in the schools history, won the Regionals by defeating Eisenhower and Homewood Flossmor which advanced them to the Sectional Championships where they had to take on 2 strong opponents in one night. By the end of the night the Mighty Macs along with 7 other Class 4A schools remain undefeated in the State Tournament Series. The Mighty Macs closed the seasons for Lincoln Way East (25-21, 25-14) and then Carl Sandburg (25-19, 25-21).
The Macs now move on to the Supersectionals on Monday November 5th at Andrew HS starting at 6:00pm. The Macs will face Lyons Township for the 3rd time this season - but the Macs will NOT look past their opponent. They are focused on their Quest for Gold staying "MENTALLY EMPOWERED"
Quotes from the Southtown Economist and Tony Baranek.
"This whole week, really, was spent on being mentally focused," Weiler said. "We prepared physically, too, but our mental game was definitely there."
Weiler, for one, played one of her best matches of the season, leading the way with 17 digs against Sandburg. Kelly Griffin (8 kills), Jessica Falk (6 kills), Catherine Wildner (4 kills, 6 digs), Melissa Joyce (21 assists, 10 digs, 2 kills) and Liz Sweeney (10 digs) also paced Mother McAuley (32-7).
Sandburg, which had to return to the court just 20 minutes after beating Marist, was definitely affected physically. Both Blatt and libero Brittney Cote went down with leg cramps during various points in the Mother McAuley match.
"A couple of others didn't go out but said they were bothered," Sandburg coach David Vales said.
"Maybe if we're fresh, we'd give them a better match. Not to say we win, but it would have been nice to have that opportunity.
"But I thought we lost because McAuley played terrific tonight. Their libero played like she can play. And when she's on her game, it's tough. It's weird to say that a libero can control a match like that. But we hit the ball hard, and she got every ball up. And then their setter ... "
That would be Joyce, who not only served and played defense but also delievered the key kill in Game 2, a misdirection dump that aborted a Sandburg rally that had seen the Eagles get within 22-19.
Sandburg played steadfastly but led only three times, at 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in Game 1.
Mother McAuley used a 5-0 salvo to take control of Game 1, with Falk, a sophomore, providing three kills. Falk would later come down badly on her left knee. She had to leave the match, and her status for Monday had yet to be determined.
Otherwise, it was all smiles, but not too much merriment. Last year, Mother McAuley followed up an emotional sectional final victory over Marist by being upset in the Bremen Supersectional by Hinsdale South.
"We got through the sectional, but this isn't the end-all, be-all," Mighty Macs coach Jen DeJarld said. "We learned our lesson last year. We're not celebrating after this. We're going home, going to bed, and back to work tomorrow. We'll be ready for Monday."
The 2007 Mighty Macs took on Lyons Township for the 3rd time this season but this time something special was on the line. The Mighty Macs walked out of the gym with a trip downstate as one of the Final Four! This will be the inagural year of the IHSA 4A State Tournament. What makes this even more special is that it is the 30th anniversary of the school's first State Championship which ironically was the inagural year of the Class AA.
(from the Daily Southtown)The Mighty Macs of 2006 saw their dreams of going downstate crushed when they couldn't finish the job against Hinsdale South.
This time, Mother McAuley finished the job, knocking out Lyons Township 25-21, 25-15 to earn a spot opposite St. Charles East in a Class 4A semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Illinois State University.
Kelly Griffin led the way for the No. 1 Mighty Macs (33-7) with 12 kills and five blocks. Melissa Joyce (21 assists, 8 digs, 3 kills, 2 blocks), Sue Hayes (8 digs, 2 aces), Carli Weiler (16 digs), Catherine Wildner (11 digs, 4 kills) and Val Zulevic (4 blocks, 3 kills) were also among the job finishers.
"Our girls are driven. Very focused," Mother McAuley coach Jen DeJarld said. "We're there in the Final Four. We're coming home with a banner and a trophy no matter what. That is thrilling. I'm so proud of these girls. They deserve it."
This is the schools 22nd trip to the State Tournament in Volleyball and the team is looking to bring home their 14th Championship Title! Their Journey Together Continues...........
Look out Normal.... We're BACK!!!!
.JPG)
