Burlington Central Claims First 4A Regional

Burlington Central took the Class 4A Dundee-Crown Regional title on Thursday, defeating Dundee-Crown 25-20, 21-25, 27-25 at Carpentersville. The second-seeded Rockets improved to 29-7 while the ninth-seeded Chargers finished at 21-14.

It marked the first 4A regional championship for Central and the program's third regional title in succession. Lani Akenten recorded 11 kills, 11 digs and two aces for the Rockets. Ainsley Wilson added 10 kills, Tiernan Naus tallied 15 assists with four aces and seven digs, Gabriella Alesi posted 10 assists and 12 digs, and Lexi Pineda contributed eight kills and two aces.

Central moves on to face No. 3 St. Charles East in a Burlington Central Sectional semifinal set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Elsewhere in regional play, Genoa-Kingston topped Johnsburg 24-26, 27-25, 25-19 in the Class 2A Marian Central Regional final at Woodstock. The second-seeded Cogs won the match over the third-seeded Skyhawks, who finished 24-13. Johnsburg's Adelaide Bruns delivered 34 assists, four aces, four blocks and 12 digs, breaking her own school record for aces in a season. Maddie Mays notched 20 digs, Alexis Sweetwood had 12 kills and an ace, Raegan Niemi posted seven kills and seven digs, Emerson Payne Brennan added seven kills, and Skye Toussaint notched five kills and four blocks.

Lakes defeated Prairie Ridge 25-18, 25-22 in the Class 3A Cary-Grove Regional final at Cary, ending the season for the fourth-seeded Wolves at 19-17. Adeline Grider recorded eight kills, three digs and two blocks for Prairie Ridge, last year's Class 3A fourth-place finisher. Tegan Vrbancic added 16 digs and two aces, Braelyn Berry had 10 assists, and Sonora Bekere posted two blocks and an ace.