Lundell gives Palatine a lift
Palatine's Jess Lundell had the volleyball match of her life - at the service line.
The Hoffman Estates defense saw the Pirates senior standing there quite often on Wednesday night.
And it was all good news for Palatine's girls team.
Lundell did not miss once in 23 tries and delivered a career-high 9 aces as the visiting Pirates topped the host Hawks 25-7, 25-11 for their first win in the Mid-Suburban West.
"That's probably the best serving match we've had from a player since I've been the head coach here," said Pirates coach Dan Gavin, who like Hoffman Estates coach Dan Hutton is in his eighth season. "Jess was hitting her zones well. And she puts a lot of float on the ball which makes it tough to pass."
Lundell stepped to the line once in each set.
In Set 1, it was 5-2 when she led off her serve with an ace and went all the way to 15-2 before a kill by senior setter Kaitlyn Imburgia ended the streak that included 4 aces and one timeout.
Pirates senior Meg Angelaccio had 2 kills during the rally while junior teammate Heather Holz recorded a block.
"It was kind of cat and mouse," said Lundell, who was also 4-of-4 serve receiving. "I was serving short and deep, back and forth.
"Once you get on a run, then it's easier to keep it going, especially when you know your team is there for you.
"I feel like its my duty to serve and they will have my back and will keep the rally going."
Lundell's big rally in Set 2 started with the Pirates nursing a 9-7 lead.
She proceeded to record the next 11 points, including 5 aces and 2 kills by Holz off quick sets from sophomore setter Sydney Christiansen (13 assists).
"Sydney and Heather had a real nice connection tonight and we were able to get them the ball because our back row movement was really good. We were in system almost constantly."
Junior middle blocker Sarah Udoni recorded a block and kill during the run.
Holz finished the match with 6 kills while Angelaccio added 5 along with 7-of-7 serving and 3 aces.
Leading the Pirates (5-4, 1-2) in digs were sophomore Alyssa Kronberg (6) and junior Alexis Serna (5). Kronberg and Serna were also 5-of-5 serve receiving.
Hoffman's attack was paced by Imburgia's 4 kills while the back row was led by junior Frankie Van (12 digs) and senior Kelsey Walford (11).
Top server for the Hawks (1-10, 0-3) was junior Lauren Schrader (3-for-3, 1 ace).
"We showed some spurts but we just had trouble getting into a rhythm," said Hutton, whose team will host "Volley with a Cure" on Oct. 7 with a visit from Conant.