Hjerpe marks 1,000th kill in Serena win

Anna Hjerpe reached the 1,000-kill mark early in the first set of Tuesday’s Class 1A regional quarterfinal, a milestone she acknowledged she nearly forgot about once the match began. She recorded the specific kill during a 13-2 run by the Serena Huskers on Al Stegman Court. The victory over Somonauk secured Serena’s spot in Wednesday’s 7 p.m. semifinal against Putnam County.

The senior entered the contest needing three more kills to achieve the individual milestone. “I knew I needed three kills to reach 1,000, but to be honest, I kind of forgot about it when the match started,” Hjerpe said. She added that the number was not a primary target when she began high school, but she began viewing it as an attainable goal midway through last season. She expressed happiness at accomplishing the feat in her home gym.

Serena, the subsectional No. 3 seed with a 24-5-2 record, defeated the No. 14 seed Somonauk (14-13) with final scores of 25-19 and 25-13. The Huskers established a commanding lead in the opening frame, aided by five kills from Hjerpe and two aces from Brynley Glade. Madilyn Sterchi extended the advantage to 17-4 with a kill, though Somonauk attempted a comeback to close within 21-18 before Serena scored four of the final five points.

Hjerpe credited her four years of teammates for helping her reach the number. “Reaching this number of kills is very exciting to me, but I couldn’t have done it without all the help from all my teammates I’ve had over the past four years,” she stated. She noted her fortune in playing with strong players and setters throughout her tenure. The team discussed blocking strategies in practice on Monday, focusing on limiting Somonauk’s outside hitters to cross-court shots.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Serena building leads of 11-5 and 19-8. Jaidynn Land, playing for the Bobcats, killed a point to bring Somonauk within 21-12, their closest approach of the set. The hosts closed out the match with four of the last five points, including an ace by Hjerpe and a kill by Sterchi.

Sterchi matched Hjerpe with 11 kills and recorded six service points. Glade contributed 14 digs, two aces, and five points. Parker Twait recorded four blocks, while Alexa McNally added two kills and five digs. Maddie Young provided six digs and 21 assists. On the Somonauk side, Ady Werner led with six kills, and Shaynee King added four. Brooke Bahrey served two aces.

Somonauk coach Christy Pruski noted the team was out of sync at the start of the first set. They were missing a starting senior and had previously struggled to maintain consistency when things went wrong. “We were definitely out of sync at the beginning of the first set,” Pruski said. She observed that the players settled down and played well but could not find the necessary consistency. The team had won the Ashton-Franklin Center Tournament on Saturday, but Pruski said they never got everything clicking at the same time.