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Girls volleyball: West Aurora takes 2nd at own tournament

Playing for second place in its own tournament, West Aurora's girls volleyball team was searching for a little extra motivation following a tough loss to Joliet Catholic an hour or so earlier.

Falling behind Plainfield East in the early going, the Blackhawks (7-6-1) went on a 9-0 run late in the first set and never looked back on their way to a 25-16, 25-16 victory that helped seal the second-place finish in their 12-team tournament Saturday at Gordon Kerkman Gymnasium.

Kayla Battle, who finished the day with 19 kills, 7 blocks and 6 digs, capped the run with an ace as the Blackhawks turned a 15-15 deadlock into a 24-15 advantage.

"It's something every team struggles with after a loss," said senior outside hitter/setter Gillian Jones. "We just had to forget about it and focus on learning from our mistakes instead of dwelling on them. I think that's what we did and came back with a fight."

That fight carried into the second set.

Led by senior Haley Banks' 8 kills, the Blackhawks built a 17-7 lead in the second set and eventually clinched the second-place finish on an ace from Natalie Jones (86 assists, 12 digs, 5 aces) and a kill by Alora Gomez.

West Aurora earned a berth in the Gold bracket with pool play wins over Genoa-Kingston and Wheaton Academy, sandwiched around a 2-game split with South Elgin.

"We had a great day," said Blackhawks coach Kevin Mortlock. "We had a goal session on Friday. They wanted to get into the Gold bracket first and they wanted to win the tournament. We ended up getting second so we got close to that."

With a senior-laden roster that includes defensive specialist Alison Greenwood (29 digs, 11 assists, 7 aces), Grace VanDorn (43 assists, 13 digs, 5 aces), and Banks (13 kills), the Blackhawks have already pocketed early-season victories over St. Charles East and Oswego East heading into this week's matches against East Aurora and Neuqua Valley.

"Thirteen of our 15 (players) are seniors," said Mortlock. "That's pretty rare to have so many still make the team all four years and stick together. You can tell there's great leadership out here. It's a very tight team. They all hang out together.

"We've had a tough schedule here at the beginning (of the season) but I think you have to play the best to be the best."

West Aurora dropped a 25-23, 26-24 decision to eventual tourney champion Joliet Catholic in the medal round opener despite a 9-kill effort from Gillian Jones.

"That was a tough one to lose but we did come back," said Jones. "We kept our energy up."

South Elgin (2-3-2) placed third in the Silver bracket thanks to solid performances from Hayley Fisher (22 kills, 16 digs), 10 aces), Taylor Hankins (21 kills, 19 digs), Libby Vedrine (18 kills), Jessica Wimbley (10 kills), Casie Swanson (54 assists, 19 digs), Hannah Miner (54 assists), and McKayla Geraghty (14 digs, 3 aces).

"We played West Aurora amazingly in the first game," said Storm coach Joni Plach. "We have a very skilled team. We won 25-16 so I knew we just had to score 17 in the second game (for tiebreaker purposes).

"It was hard to not take that momentum against Genoa-Kingston (split). We did come out flat and that kept us from playing in the first-place bracket."

Bartlett and Streamwood each placed third in the Bronze and Copper bracket, respectively.

St. Charles East takes Northside College Showcase crown

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