Girls volleyball: Waubonsie Valley overcomes Hinsdale South

With four talented girls volleyball seniors having graduated, Waubonsie Valley knew it would need some big contributions from some new faces this fall.

So far so good, as newcomers have helped the Warriors start 6-3. Thursday night one such newcomer, junior right side Greer Griffin, helped power host Waubonsie Valley to a 25-20, 25-19 sweep of Hinsdale South in a nonconference match in Aurora.

Griffin recorded a match-high 7 kills against the Hornets and saved some of her biggest plays for clutch moments just as the visitors tried to make their moves. In the second set Hinsdale South whittled a 14-4 deficit down to 21-16, but Griffin recorded a big kill for her team's 22nd point and later teamed with Libby Valek on a block for a 24-19 lead.

"I think the team's playing amazing. We've done a really good job of filling in the shoes of the four seniors that we lost," said Griffin, who had 6 kills on Wednesday in a win over Hinsdale Central. "Everyone has really good energy and everyone gives it their all."

Thursday's first set was tight throughout, with six early ties as the night opened up with a 7-7 draw through 14 points. The Hornets trailed just 11-10 after Emma Axelrod set up Paola Gonzalez for a kill. But the Warriors went on a 10-5 run for a 21-16 lead en route to taking the first set.

Junior Gisela Bode closed out the first set with 2 kills for Waubonsie Valley, with game point coming after a big dig from senior libero Michelle Lee, who finished with 11 digs.

First-year coach Kari Galen said her team has made some nice strides already in the new campaign.

"We really talked about focusing on the game plan. We find the opponents' weakness and we go out and attack it," she said. "Out of all of the nights so far that we've played, tonight I think we really accomplished that. Last week we played Batavia and they took advantage of our weaknesses. So we worked on that in practice and I can see what we've worked on translate over into games."

The Hornets (3-6) missed injured outside hitter Tierney Ward, who suffered an ankle sprain last week. The team also struggled with its passing while falling behind by 10 points in the second set before making a late run.

"Again, we show flashes that we can be extremely competitive. It's like a puzzle right now … it's finding the right pieces and putting them where they need to be," said Hinsdale South coach Lisa Tazelaar, whose squad will get another crack at the Warriors next week at the Wheaton Warrenville South tourney. "Right now we're going to struggle a little bit and we'll take some losses, because we have to figure out the right formula."

Hornets captain Emily Drenth had 4 kills and 6 digs on the night, with Alyssa Errandi and Amanda Pultorak each recording 3 kills and the 6-foot-2 Pultorak adding 3 blocks.