‘We just really put it all in line’
Blacha emerges as Reavis ousts Stagg in regional semifinals
It has been quite a journey this season for Reavis’ Evelyn Blacha.
And the junior outside hitter pretty much called it.
The Rams as a favorite to win the conference? Blacha with a chance to be a conference player of the year?
“I honestly felt it a lot with this team,” Blacha said. “I saw how much everybody had grown over the year on their different club teams and my club team.
“We just really put it all in line. We said, ‘No regrets,’ and we went for it.”
She came up aces and more Monday night as Reavis won its playoff opener with a 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 victory over Stagg in a Class 4A Marist Regional semifinal in Chicago.
Blacha was the standout with 10 kills and five aces for Reavis (17-12). Veronica Liszka added five kills, five aces and 11 digs, while Yuvia Velasquez made 16 digs and Marissa Pulido had 22 assists and 12 digs.
Mary Zielinski led Stagg (10-22) with 17 kills. Saja Salamah landed five aces.
Reavis will play at 6 p.m. on Thursday in the regional championship match against host Marist (28-7), a 25-3, 25-8 winner over Juarez in the other semifinal.
The Rams beat Stagg in straight sets during the regular season, but the power hitting of Zielinski helped the Chargers pull a stunner in the first game.
“Whoo, we had to find a new energy,” Blacha said, smiling. “We knew what we had to do, the spots we had to hit. And we had to keep the ball away from their strongest players.
“As a whole, we worked really hard to get to the third set.”
Blacha had an ace and two kills down the stretch to put away the second game.
Liszka turned the tide in the
third game, serving for six straight points and landing two aces as the Rams broke away from a 10-10 tie.
“We wanted it so bad,” Liszka said. “We beat Stagg in a regional match last year at their own court and we beat them on our court this season, so we all knew they wanted to come back and beat us.
“But we wanted it more and we won.”
Reavis was unbeaten in winning the South Suburban Red title and lost just once in a crossover match against South Suburban Blue champion Lemont.
The conference title was the first for Reavis since 1995. Blacha stands alone as a conference player of the year for the Rams.
“It feels amazing,” Blacha said. “I worked really hard for it. The entire team, I feel, really worked for it. I’m very happy and excited to have gotten the honor.”
She did it playing as an outside hitter for the first time in her career — a goal she established for herself after her sophomore season.
“I was a middle for my 1st Alliance club team, but I really felt like I improved in passing,” Blacha said. “So I went to show Coach (Stephanie Korbakes) that, and I worked really hard to get that outside position and be able to play all-around.”
Korbakes opened the door for Blacha during a summer conversation.
“I just asked her, ‘Thoughts about outside, possibly?’ ” the Reavis coach said. “She was so excited. She was up for the opportunity.
“She jumped all in and picked it up quick. She really focused on her serve receive, and she’s just been a natural at it. She trusts her instinct and follows it.”
Blacha leads the Rams on offense with 253 kills and 59 aces. She’s among the team leaders with 216 digs.
Pulido isn’t afraid to set the ball to her here, there and everywhere.
“Honestly, I always look forward to setting ‘Ev’ because I can always count on her,” Pulido said. “Even if the set is off a little or really good, she’ll put the ball down.”
A real team leader.
“A D-I prospect,” Liszka said.