advertisement

Girls volleyball: Tri-Cities all-area team

Lauren Carlini

West Aurora

The captain of the Tri-Cities All-Area volleyball team, this Wisconsin recruit led West Aurora in the regular season with 179 kills, a .470 hitting percentage, 52 blocks, 77 digs, 27 aces and was second on the team with 195 assists. Earned all-DVC honors and made the all-tournament teams at the Benet Invitational and Glenbard East's Autumnfest. “Lauren is an excellent setter, an excellent hitter, an excellent blocker and an excellent server,” West Aurora coach Kari Nicholson said. “Her greatest strength comes in her ability to do the things that need to be done. She also is an excellent teammate always supportive of her team.”

Stephanie Kinane

Batavia

On her second year as Batavia's starting libero, Kinane finished Batavia's 30-5 regular season with 26 aces and a team-high 96 serving percentage. She tied for first in serve receive percentage at 94 percent and leads the team with a school-record 314 digs. “Stephanie is the epitome of why the libero position was one of the best positions that the sport of volleyball could have created,” Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. “The quality and length of our rallies this season have been partially due to Steph's performance running our back row. Her serve receive and serving are so good that she has made an impact on how many points we have scored, and how well we can run a side out offense.”

Jessica Lubic

Kaneland

This Northern Illinois-bound setter led the Knights to a 19-13 season quite a jump from 3-24 as a freshman. The four-year varsity player set school record 1,608 career assists while posting a 5.0 GPA in the classroom. Through the regular season Lubic had 39 aces, 123 kills, 479 assists, 39 blocks and 130 digs while making all-tournament teams at the Falcon Classic and Spikefest. “Jess has done a nice job,” Kaneland coach Todd Weimer said. “She knows how to run the game, sees the big block, sees where we need to go.”

Mary Nilles

Batavia

In her third year on varsity, this Marquette commit finished the regular season third in kills (143), second with 42 block kills, second in aces (361) and third in points (168) with a team-high setting accuracy at 97.4. “Mary is also a very solid all-around player, as evidenced with our use of the 6-2 offense,” Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. “She can also block, serve and dig well. This year has really been a breakout year for Mary in a few ways. She has really stepped up into a leadership role as one of our captains this year. She has matured as a setter and is running a much more efficient offense. She has also matured as a hitter and is playing better defense.”

Meghan Niski

St. Charles East

The three-year starter finished second on the Saints with 186 kills in the regular season. Also served 18 aces, had 11 blocks, 88 digs and a 2.4 passing percentage. Made the all-tournament teams at both the Autumnfest Invitational and the Mizuno Cup. “She's been dynamic as a hitter,” St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said. “We chose her as a captain as a junior, that's a great thing. She's been a leader on the court, leading by example.”

Maisey Mulvey

St. Charles East

Since helping the Saints win the 2008 state championship as a freshman, Mulvey has been one of the top liberos around. She continued her strong play this season with 98 digs, 10 aces and a 2.3 passing percentage for the 25-10 Saints. “She runs the court,” St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said. “She talks about our defense and does a phenomenal job. Her serve-receive has improved dramatically.”

Haley Norris

Rosary

This three-year starter broke Rosary's single-season dig record with 407 (through Oct. 26) by a wide margin over the old mark of 314. That also enabled her to set the career dig record at Rosary. She served at 95 percent with 28 aces and had a serve receive average of 2.32 on a 3.0 scale. An all-tournament selection at Plainfield North, Norris will attend Northern Illinois in the fall. “Haley has done a fantastic job her three years on varsity,” Rosary coach Lisa Kasper said. “She has become one of the top liberos in the area and the stability she brings to our back row will be missed next season. She is a great team captain and keeps everyone calm on the floor.”

Caitlin Piechota

Batavia

This Western-Carolina bound lefty certainly provided plenty of power for the 30-5, Upstate Eight Conference River Division champion Bulldogs. Hitting at a .428 clip, Piechota put away a team-high 265 kills. Also fired a team-best 49 aces. Piechota excelled at every facet of the game with a 94 serve-receive percentage, a school-record 224 points and 217 digs. “What she has accomplished and helped to lead our team on the court has definitely helped with us, considering we have a lot of juniors on the floor (and a sophomore),” Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. “Caitlin is a very solid all-around player. Her presence in the back row is just as strong as her front row presence, which is hard to find with most players. She is one of the few complete players we have had here at BHS.”

Ashleigh Shain

Geneva

After graduating a tremendous amount of height and power, Geneva featured a new look on the court this year and relied a lot on defense and gritty play. Shain played a central role in her libero position with 420 digs through the regular season, including a school-record 27 against Batavia. Made the all-tournament team at the Glenbard West invite when she had 69 digs and served 33 points and 8 aces. Served 33 aces during the season. “She is really a top-notch libero,” Geneva coach KC Johnsen said. “Ashleigh can play right with them (the top liberos) and it's crucial for us because we are just flat-out short this year. Ashleigh can play defense.”

Natalie Steinwart

Aurora Central

A 4-year varsity starter and two-year captain, Steinwart has been in the center of Aurora Central's resurgence. The Chargers finished the regular season 28-7 after going 27-11 last year and won their second straight Suburban Christian Gold title. Steinwart broke her own school record with 575 assists after 510 last year. Also had 133 kills as the starting setter, plus 212 digs and 45 aces. Named SCC Gold Player of the Year. “Natalie has been a great player for Aurora Central, and a great pleasure to coach for my two years here,” ACC coach Jeanne Czipri said. “She has an unparalleled passion for the game and a phenomenal work ethic that is infectious to her teammates, and is a fierce competitor. She is a talented and smart setter, but also a hard-to-defend attacker.”

Jill Stolzenburg

St. Charles North

This junior emerged as one of the top middles around. When the North Stars were able to get the ball in the middle, Stolzenburg put it away a team-best .430 clip. Also averaged a block a game while developing her jump serve into a weapon. Made the all-tournament team at the Wheaton Classic. “Jill is, in my opinion, one of the top middles in the conference,” North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said. “In the amount of times she gets set Jill gets a kill more often than she does not or has an error. She also is one of the top blockers on our team.”

Sam Szarmach

St. Charles East

This senior stepped into a much more focal role in the St. Charles East lineup and delivered a team-best 197 kills during the regular season. Also served 20 aces, had 17 blocks and a 2.0 passing percentage. “Sam has been a great leader vocally, real positive, helping motivate,” Saints coach Jennie Kull said. “She is a competitor, she likes to be successful. She demands commitment on court and in practice.”

Special mention

Mary Kate Bryant (jr., S/OH/RS, Batavia); Olivia Desormey (sr., MB, St. Charles East); Katy Dudzinski (jr., OH, Kaneland); Katie Fuerst (sr., OH, St. Charles North); Kristen Koncelik (so., MH, Batavia); Riley Sullivan (sr., OH, Geneva).

Honorable mention

Erienne Barry (so., S, St. Charles East); Brooke Binette (sr., OH, Geneva); Kathleen Dailey (jr., MH, St. Charles East); Grace Fabrizius (jr., OH, Kaneland); Brianna Flagg (so., OH, Rosary); Kim Juriga (jr., RS, St. Charles North); Lindsey Juriga (sr., S, Rosary); Nicole Lambert (jr., MB, St. Charles East); Breann Maryanski (sr., MH, Rosary); Peyton McKenzie (so., MB, West Aurora); Rachel Miller (sr., OH/MH, Aurora Central); Brooke Morphis (sr., S, Geneva); Kelsey Richmond (jr., MB, West Aurora); Katie Ruhl (sr., LH, West Aurora); Kylie Siebert (jr., L, Kaneland); Victoria Swigart (jr., RH, Aurora Central); Amelia Wegman (jr., OH, Rosary); Ashley Wilk (jr., OH, Aurora Central).

Stephanie Kinane
Jess Lubic
Maisey Mulvey
Mary Nilles
Meghan Niski
Haley Norris
Caitlin Piechota
Ashleigh Slain
Natalie Steinwart
Jill Stolzenburg
Samantha Szarmach