NORMAL - State volleyball tournament experience is supposed to be worth a few points. Belleville Althoff High School got robbed Friday in the Class 3A semifinals. | Photo gallery

Second-time state entrant Crystal Lake Central, the No. 10-ranked team in the country according to PrepVolleyball.com, ignored the Crusaders' nine previous state trips worth of experience to post a 25-17, 25-11 triumph.

Crystal Lake Central (41-0) plays Wheaton St. Francis (38-3) in today's 5:30 p.m. final. St. Francis (38-3), last year's Class AA champion, advanced with a 25-17, 25-17 win over Sycamore.

"It will be a case of a team that hasn't been to state in a long time (1989) to one that comes about every year," said Crystal Lake Central coach Doug Blundy. "We've accepted every challenge we've had this year and we expect to meet this one, too."

Althoff meets Sycamore in the third-place match at 4:30 p.m. today.

Blundy didn't think this victory came a little easier than expected.

"It came a lot easier," he said after the Tigers outhit Althoff .343 to .070. "Even when they had some kind of attack or some kind of play, we were able to keep the ball alive and get it back over the net."

Crystal Lake Central's kill leader was Seton Hall-recruit Rachael Thornquist with 13. She served for seven consecutive points during an 8-0 run as the Tigers built a 15-7 lead in the first game.

In the second game, Crystal Lake Central dominated en route to leads of 6-0 and 11-2.

Carly Hayes, who finished with nine kills, had five during an 8-0 run to go up 23-8.

"Crystal Lake Central took us out of our game from the beginning," said Althoff coach Kathy Wuller, whose team also lost to Wheaton St. Francis this season, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19.

"St. Francis has been in this (title match) situation so many times, and I think that experience is going to help them. I think it will be a very good match."

Kelley Michnowicz, a 6-foot-2 Missouri State recruit, had six kills, as did Carly Thomas to lead Althoff, whose setter, Wright State-bound Lauren Stuckel, had 10 assists and seven digs.

St. Francis-Sycamore

After a time-killing trip to Miller Park Zoo, Wheaton St. Francis unleashed .276 hitting against a mere seven hitting errors and three service errors on Sycamore.

"We served pretty well," said St. Francis coach Peg Kopec, who will try for her ninth state championship today. "They didn't seem to be able to pass the ball as tight to the net as they probably wanted to. We were able to dig them pretty well."

Texas-recruit Michelle Kocher led the Spartans with nine digs and 23 assists. Notre Dame-bound Megan Barnicle had a match-high seven kills while Seton Hall-recruit Meghan Matusiak added six, as did Kelsey Robinson and Margaret Vonderhaar.

Barnicle set the tone with a match-opening block to spark her team to a 5-0 lead. The Spartans jumped out to a 14-7 advantage in the second game.

"They were ready to be here," said Sycamore coach Debbie Klock, who got a team-high six kills from Diane Kasper. "They didn't have to get through the jitters."

Sycamore's 6-foot-4 Missouri recruit, Allison Johnson, was set twice, but didn't kill either ball.