Nip-and-tuck match goes Larkin's way against Elgin

Beating your city rival can sometimes go a long way in the confidence department.

That's what the Larkin girls volleyball team is hoping for after the Royals downed Elgin 25-20, 25-21 Tuesday night in an Upstate Eight Conference River Division match played before a small but vocal crowd at Elgin's Chesbrough Field House.

"Elgin's been Larkin's rival forever and ever since I've been at Larkin we haven't beaten them so this is extra exciting," said Larkin junior setter Lexi Smithberg.

"We play South Elgin Thursday so this should be a good boost for us to play them."

Both the Royals (3-6, 1-1) and the Maroons (2-14, 0-2) came into the match struggling so far this season, so it figured that they would compete tooth-and-nail with each other, and they did. With the exception of the final score in Game 1 and one 6-point lead by Larkin in Game 2, neither team had more than a 4-point lead all night.

"That's the best we've played in two weeks," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales. "I was very happy with the effort. We've had kids out sick and missing for other commitments. We haven't had everyone at practice and communication is the first thing that suffers."

Larkin jumped ahead 4-1 in Game 1 and held the lead, with the exception of a brief 11-10 Elgin advantage, until the Maroons made a mini-run and took a 20-19 lead on a Larkin hitting error.

But then, a kill by Larkin freshman Olivia Kofie (6 kills) tied the game and gave the Royals back the serve. Three Elgin hitting errors, a Kofie kill off a nifty pass from Smithberg and a kill from junior Piper Johnson gave the Royals the win.

Game 2 was again close throughout until the Royals pulled away at the end. Leading 18-16, Larkin got the serve back when Elgin was called for a 4-hit violation. Johnson used a Maroon hitting error and two Elgin net violations to serve Larkin into a 22-16 lead the Maroons couldn't recover from.

Elgin did come back to make it a 24-21 game but the Royals won the game and the match on a net serve by the Maroons.

Larkin got a big boost in the match from freshman Brianna Stewart, who was moved to the outside from the middle for the first time and had 6 kills, and from the precision setting of Smithberg, who had 13 assists.

"They make it easier for us," said Larkin coach Marcin Dybka of Kofie and Stewart, two very promising freshmen. "And (Smithberg) was in a zone with her setting.

"There are always things to work on and we're not going to get too excited. There are a lot of matches ahead of us."

Briana Hamilton had 5 kills for Elgin, while Rachel Roth had 6 digs and Kasandra Gavina added four. Senior setter Heather Gawaluck, who has been out sick the last week, had 8 assists and 6 digs.

The Royals and Maroons will meet again Sept. 23 in a nonconference match at Larkin.