CRETE | Tuesday night's sectional semifinal match between No. 2 seed Illiana Christian and No. 3 Evergreen Park was nothing less than classic.

After the teams had battled back and forth for more than an hour, Evergreen Park grabbed a 23-21 lead in the decisive third game. After a Mustang hitting error brought Illiana to within one, the Vikings' Katie Larson stepped to the service line.

The junior coolly delivered an ace on her first serve, then delivered two more service points to give the Vikings the match 25-23, 21-25, 25-23.

"That was very fun," Larson said after the game, still shaking with excitement. "It was great how we came back to win. The momentum was there the whole time. Even when we went down, we knew we could to it, and we got right back up."

Illiana (31-1) advances to face top-seeded Oak Forest at 7 p.m. for the championship of the Class 3A Crete-Monee Sectional.

"This is why postseason is the best part of the year," head coach Nikki DeMik said with a smile. "It's games like this that makes coaching volleyball worth it."

The Vikings may have been surprised to find themselves needing to come from behind to win the game. Just minutes earlier they had taken a 20-16 lead. But Evergreen Park picked up four kills on the way to taking seven of the next eight points.

Vikings middle hitter Ally Vree could feel the pressure.

"Well, that was nerve-wracking," said Vree. "But I just tried to kind of forget about it and put it out of my head."

Vree had a team-high nine kills in the match, and she seemed to be the Vikings' go-to hitter when they needed a point the most.

That included Game 1, when it looked as though the Mustangs would trample the Vikings. Evergreen Park jumped out to a 6-1 lead, and later took a 15-9 lead on an ace.

After an Illiana timeout, Vree picked up a quick kill, and the Vikings went on to win eight of the next 10 points to tie the game at 17.

"We've been down before," Vree said. "You just have to remember those games though, because we've always come back."

Captain Nadine Krzyston had 25 assists for Illiana, and Larson added seven kills and 10 digs.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Class 3A Crete-Monee Sectional

Semifinals

(1) Oak Forest 25-25, (5) Bremen 17-11

(2) Illiana Christian 25-21-25, (3) Evergreen Park 23-25-23

Championship

(1) Oak Forest vs. (2) Illiana Christian, 7 p.m. Thursday