Geneva wins own invite
The wait is over.
After putting an end to Joliet Catholic's 8-year run as Geneva Invitational champions with a 3-game victory over the Angels in the semifinals, the Vikings' volleyball team decided it was time to keep the title plaque close to home.
Led by 6-2 sophomore outside hitter Grace Loberg (9 kills, 1 block, 1 ace), 5-10 senior outside hitter Hannah Lanasa (5 kills) and 6-0 sophomore outside/right-side Ally Barrett (4 kills, 1 block), the Vikings (9-0) claimed their own tourney title with a 25-23, 25-12 triumph over Burlington Central Saturday afternoon in Geneva.
"It has been a long time coming that we've won this tournament," said Geneva first-year head coach Annie Seitelman. "The kids came in focused and ready to go. They said, 'this is our gym, this is our tournament and we want to win it.'"
The Vikings had an idea that there might be a different outcome this time around when their junior varsity team (Geneva 2) knocked off Joliet Catholic 25-18, 13-25, 15-9 in pool play.
"They (varsity) were shocked when our Geneva 2 team beat them in pool play," said Seitelman. "Our varsity hadn't beaten them in years. They were like, 'you know what that means - we're winning this thing today.'"
In the championship match, the Vikings staged a late rally to take the first game from the scrappy Rockets (4-2).
Trailing 13-9, 17-14 and 20-17, Geneva caught a break to pull even at 21-all before taking the lead for good at 22-21 on a Burlington Central hitting error. Loberg sealed the deal with 3 consecutive kills.
"There was a questionable call at 21-20," said Burlington Central coach Marv Leavitt. "They (officials) said it hit the net instead of off the block. After the match, they said they were sorry that they made the wrong call. They're trying the best they can but at the same time you don't want to have anything extra that you have to earn."
Geneva, which received additional support from junior right-side Kyley Thompson (4 kills), senior libero Kelsey Wicinski (3 aces) and senior middle blocker Maddie Courter (1 kill, 1 ace), jumped out to a 13-5 lead in Game 2 and never looked back.
"We knew that we haven't won our own tournament in a while," said Barrett. "We really wanted to come out here and give our best and hopefully take home the title for once."
It marked Geneva's second victory over Burlington Central in a 3-hour time span after beating the Rockets 25-20, 25-23 in pool play.
"We knew that playing them a second time around that they'd be gunning for us," said Seitelman. "They gave us a very competitive match and fortunately we came out on the winning side."
Seniors Aly DeTamble (6 kills), Lauren Wiltsie (5 kills) and Mackenzie Whitmer (2 aces) paced the Rockets, who advanced to the finals with an emotional 25-13, 18-25, 25-22 semifinal victory over DeKalb.
"It's as high as we've ever finished in my 10 years here," said Leavitt. "DeKalb has beaten us several times the last three or four years. To only lose twice to a tough team like Geneva is something we're proud of.
"Lauren Wiltsie is a 5-foot-6 dynamo out there - she's so smart as a hitter," added Leavitt. "And our other outside, Aly DeTamble, had a great match."