McAuley Water Polo Takes 3rd in State

The Mighty Macs finish the 28-5 season with a win over Mundelein

They just kept swimming. The Mother McAuley varsity water polo team grabbed third place in the IHSA state finals Saturday beating the Mundelein Mustangs 11-9. The Mighty Macs ended the season with an overall record of 29-5, Mundelein finished with a 27-8 record. The Macs, coming off an 8-7 loss against St. Ignatius earlier Saturday, never fell behind. Kristen Kleist scored the first goal of the game halfway through the first quarter, but Allie Boothe responded with Mundelein’s first point of the game about a minute later. Kleist and Boothe were both top scorers, with 5 and 6 goals, respectively. Clare Bryar put in three shots for the Macs. Both teams presented strong defenses throughout the game, which had several turnovers and ejections …

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Athlete of the Week: Mother McAuley's Lizzy Scanlon Packs a Volleyball Punch

Lizzy Scanlon was McAuley's main offensive threat with 10 kills in a heart-breaking straight-sets loss to Marist last week.

Lizzy Scanlon thought she had won the first game for Mother McAuley. At 24-22, she pounded another hit down the line against Marist in a volleyball matchup of South Side powers. But the referee signaled it was out of bounds and the RedHawks went on to rally for three straight points to take Game 1 and eventually won the match 26-24, 25-18. Even in the loss, Scanlon was terrific, tallying 10 kills against a Marist team considered by many as one of the best in the state. Her performance for the Mighty Macs in the volleyball thriller earned her the nod as Patch Athlete of the Week for Evergreen Park. "They’re a great team ... their hitters are outstanding,” Marist's Mallory Salis said after last week's match. Specifically, she was referring …

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Athlete of the Week: McAuley's Powell Digs Defensive Volleyball

Bridget Powell, the Mighty Macs' senior libero, is looking to bring a state championship back to Mother McAuley.

Liberos aren't always the center of attention in the volleyball world, but Bridget Powell is certainly turning heads with her defense. She ended last season with an astonishing 522 digs and started 2011 off with 18 more in Mother McAuley's 22-25, 25-22, 11-25 loss to Joliet Catholic on opening night. The performance earned her Patch Athlete of the Week honors for Evergreen Park. "Bridget did a nice job. She had some incredible digs, and I think she passed pretty well," Mother McAuley coach Jennier DeJarld said following the Mighty Macs' loss to JCA. "Bridget’s been one of our strongest leaders on the court." As one of the many seniors on this year's varsity team, Powell will try and lead McAuley to its first state championship since 2004, …

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Mother McAuley Volleyball: Mighty Macs Fall in Three-Set Thriller to Joliet Catholic Academy

After coming back to win the second game, the Mighty Macs were unable to stop JCA from pulling away in the third in a season-opening battle between perennial powerhouses.

For any sports team, the first game or match of the season will bring some opening-night jitters. Combine that with an opponent who was the IHSA Class 3A state runner-up last season, and it almost certainly won’t be a stress-free season opener. With a playoff-like atmosphere at Mother McAuley’s home gym, the Mighty Macs played Joliet Catholic Academy to a tough three-set match in their 2011 debut. But after splitting two tightly contested games, Joliet Catholic pulled away to a 25-11 win over Mother McAuley in Game 3. “It was a typical first match of the season, a lot of missed serves, not a lot of communication and silly things happening,” McAuley coach Jennifer DeJarld said. “ Both teams were shaky at the start, committing several …

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Hot Shot: Mother McAuley's Rogers Selected as Patch's Athlete of the Week

The softball pitcher kept hitters in check in Mother McAuley's season-opening trip to Florida.

Mother McAuley has high expectations for junior pitcher Ashley Rogers this season. Rogers lived up to them this past week with the Mighty Macs in Florida. She pitched 10 innings, giving up only one run, and McAuley went 3-1 on the trip. Rogers’ efforts earned her Patch Athlete of the Week honors. “Ashley did a great job on the mound the last few days,” Mother McAuley coach Colleen Kilduff said in an email. “She was in command and had great defense to back her up.” Kilduff knows Rogers is a key for her team. “We are expecting more of this from Ashley throughout the season and expect her to help lead us deep into the playoffs this year,” she said.

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PatchCast: A Daily Video Report

Daily PatchCast: Mass Graves, Scouts Swindled and Sliders

A daily video recap of the Southland's top stories

Thief Drains Boy Scout Troop's Bank Account Toddler Found Dead in New Lenox Township Cemetery President 'Surprised' by Sheriff’s Mass Graves Accusation Girls Basketball: Mother McAuley Ousts Oak Lawn It's What You Crave: The White Castle Debate (Video)

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Girls Basketball: Mother McAuley Ousts Oak Lawn

Mother McAuley 53, Oak Lawn 25. Mighty Macs sing, 'Good golly, Miss Molly' after Stasaitis leads the way with 13 points in regional final.

The Hot Read: Mother McAuley's defense was almost impenetrable in a 53-25 girls basketball victory over Oak Lawn on Thursday night in the Class 4A Mother McAuley Regional championship game. The Mighty Macs held the Spartans to single digits in the first quarter, as they took a 22-8 lead. The second half wasn't much better for the Spartans. They were held to just five points in the third quarter, as McAuley extended its lead to 47-21. Patch's MVP: Molly Stasaitis (13 points, 2 rebounds). Stasaitis hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Mighty Macs build a 22-8 lead. Key Stats: Oak Lawn came up with 13 rebounds, but the Spartans weren't able to do much with them. Mother McAuley grabbed 15 rebounds nd was able to come up …

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