Spartans roll on

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Sycamore’s Brittany Olson (center) throws her arms up in celebration of the Spartans’ 25-13, 25-20 victory against Sterling in a semifinal match of the Class 3A Rochelle Sectional on Tuesday night in Rochelle. Olson had nine kills and a block in the win. The Spartans will face Freeport in the sectional championship match at 7 p.m. Thursday (Rob Winner – rwinner@daily-chronicle.com)

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ROCHELLE – Some nights, not everything is working right.

For Sycamore junior middle Evyn McCoy, it wasn't her night to hit. Everything seemed to sail long.

But on defense, that wasn't the case at all. McCoy got herself into the right position and finished with seven blocks to help Sycamore to a 25-13, 25-20 win over Sterling in a semifinal match in the Class 3A Rochelle Sectional.

That was just the kind of night it was for Sycamore. The Spartans didn’t play great, but did enough to win.

"I don't think it was our sharpest game, but we got the job done and I think that's all you can ask for at this point," McCoy said. "My hitting was a little off, so I had to make a difference somewhere."

Sycamore (32-6) entered the match with confidence, having beaten Sterling earlier in the season, and left with a shot at a sectional title.

They will face Freeport at 7 p.m. Thursday in Rochelle in the championship match.

Sycamore started out the match quick, rolling to a 25-13 first-game win. But they fell behind 6-2 early in the second game before recovering to tie the match at 10 and lead the rest of the way.

"They came out relaxed," Sycamore coach Debbie Klock said. "I was all over them after that and I have to learn to relax. I bring the tension up. I was demanding things to get ready for another match."

The offense ran smoothly through Jill Johnson, who finished with 19 assists and three kills, as she got five of her teammates involved in kills, as well.

"I think we just executed well, we knew what to do," Johnson said.

Brittany Olson was the main target, with nine kills and a block, while McCoy had five kills from the middle.

Stephanie Huber added three kills, Kate Binder had two and Kaitlyn Roach had one.

Now the Spartans play a Freeport team that was somewhat of a surprise winner against Marian Central Catholic in the first semifinal of the night.

"They're going to be a quicker team," Klock said.

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