Glenbard West wins eighth straight
The momentum continues for Glenbard West.
After capturing a fourth straight tournament title at their own invitational over the weekend, the Hilltoppers ran their winning streak to eight and moved to 19-2 on the season with a 25-13, 25-16 sweep of Palatine in nonconference action Monday night.
Coach Pete Mastandrea and his team showed no signs of a letdown after winning the tournament championship match over Geneva on Saturday, going the distance with the Vikings in a three-game victory.
“Our game on Saturday was such a rough game since we went to three and the last one was 32-30,” senior middle blocker Katie Ball said. “We were prepared tonight to finish strong.”
The Hilltoppers and Pirates played close in the early parts of Game 1, with Palatine holding a 9-7 lead after a block by Kimberly Butler.
Hannah Bridier gave Palatine its last lead of the evening with a kill that put her team up 10-9.
From there Glenbard West went on a 15-3 run the rest of the way as Natalie Schilling, Abbey Winkler and Caroline Jenkins combined for seven of their teams’ nine kills during that stretch. Winkler and Schilling also finished with two service aces apiece during the run.
“Our middle (blockers) have been hitting over .600 all year,” Mastandrea said. “And (Meg) DeMaar was the MVP at our tournament. She’s been our glue defensively. We don’t have high hitting percentages without her.
“Our setting has also taken leaps and bounds with (Kate) Wagner and (Abbey) Winkler. They’ve been outstanding for us.”
Ball, Winkler and Alison Burelbach connected on three straight attack attempts to start Game 2 and give the Hilltoppers an early 3-0 lead.
Palatine got no closer than a 1-point deficit after a Hilltoppers attack error trimmed their lead to 3-2.
Wagner earned the match point on a service ace, one of 12 on the night for Glenbard West. Winkler led her team with 4 service aces, while Schilling added 2.
Palatine (1-8) was hurt by three service errors in Game 2.
“Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy,” Palatine coach Dan Gavin said. “We play good volleyball in spurts and then we take a couple points off for whatever reason. When you play a good team like Glenbard West, they’re going to make you pay for those mistakes.”
Butler, Bridier and Meg Angelaccio each finished with 3 kills apiece for the Pirates, while Angelaccio led with 7 digs.