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Volleyball: Kronberg will be on the case at Memphis

With an interest in FBI work, Alyssa Kronberg plans to study criminology in college.

For now, Kronberg is quite adept at solving hard-hitting attackers on the volleyball court.

The Palatine senior is one of the top liberos in the state and her skills have been sought out by Division I Memphis University, where she will continue her career next year.

"From the moment I met the coaches and the team, I knew in my gut that Memphis would be a perfect fit for me," said Kronberg, an all-area libero last year who led the 2015 Mid-Suburban League West champs with 536 digs. "I knew going into the college recruiting process that having coaches that I loved, and teammates that I could picture myself with, was very important. I am very lucky that I have both of those aspects at Memphis."

Kronberg began playing volleyball when she was in sixth grade.

" All of my friends at the time had started playing," she said. "Volleyball was just a leisure game at that point though, I didn't take the game seriously until freshman year."

College volleyball did not even enter Kronberg's mind until her sophomore year of high school when her club coach (Spencer Kaszuba) placed her on the top team at Rolling Thunder.

"He had an unbelievable amount of faith in me, and took a giant leap by placing me on the first team," Kornberg said. "He taught me not only how to be a great volleyball player, but also to be confident in myself and believe that I was capable of great things, which is why I look up to him so much."

She has also relished the chance to play high school volleyball for the Pirates.

"It has been awesome being on coach (Dan) Gavin's varsity team the past three years," she said. "He has really helped me become a leader on the court."

Kronberg has worn No. 13 on her back every year during her high school career.

"It is my lucky number," she said. "I seriously do not feel like the high school player if I am not wearing No. 13. I'm excited to see how the rest of our high school season plays out, and can't wait to continue my volleyball career at the University of Memphis."

Becker promoted

Morehead State assistant volleyball coach, former Rolling Meadows standout Kyrsten Becker, was promoted as the program's associate head coach last spring.

Becker joined the Eagle volleyball program as its director of operations in 2011, was promoted to an assistant coach in 2012, and added the title of recruiting coordinator in 2013.

"Since Kyrsten joined our program five years ago, she has continued to shine while stepping into new roles, and she has done a fantastic job," said head coach Jamie Gordon on the school's website. "She has been a key component to our success. While she has been here, we have won three OVC championships and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Our expectations are to return to that level of success, and she will play a key role in that."

With Becker on staff, Morehead State went 50-2 (. 962) in Ohio Valley Conference matches from 2011-13 en route to three consecutive regular-season league championships. The Eagles captured conference tournament titles in 2011 and 2013 on their way to NCAA tournament appearances.

In 2015, Becker was tabbed by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as one of the nation's top 30 coaches under the age of 30.

"This promotion means a lot to me," Becker said. "Being with this program for so long, and having the opportunity to invest so much of my energy in it, while learning from coach Gordon, is something that I value a lot. Very few have been named associate head coach here at Morehead State, so I am very grateful for the opportunity."

Gordon and Becker are currently in their sixth season together at Morehead State.

"Consistency in the coaching staff is something that is sometimes underappreciated," said Gordon, whose team is currently 4-9 . "It's important to the student-athletes, it's important to recruiting, but it's also important to the staff. We're a family, so when you have somebody who you can trust as much as I can trust Kyrsten, it's invaluable."

After starring at Rolling Meadows, Becker had a four-year playing career at St. Francis College in Joliet. She was a three-time All-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference performer, a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, and a two-time Daktronics NAIA Volleyball Scholar-Athlete.

Football

Augustana freshman Bobby Jarosz (Prospect) handled all three carries in a 42-yard scoring drive during the Vikings' 41-14 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory over Carroll at Lindberg Stadium.

Jarosz raced for 32 and 9 yards before capping the drive with a 1-yard TD which put the Vikings (2-1) ahead 34-14 after the extra point.

Augustana senior linebacker Jack Asquina (Buffalo Grove) and senior safety Frank Kalble (Hersey) were credited with 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, to lead a Viking defense that limited the Pioneers to 221 yards of total offense.

Women's golf

Illinois State junior Kiley Walsh (Prospect) and teammate Caitlin Sims led the Redbirds in the final round of the Missouri State's MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial at the par-71 Twin Oaks Country Club.

They both shot carded 4-over-par 75s. Walsh finished the tournament with a 232 (78-79-75).

The Redbirds started the day in a tie for 11th place and finished the tournament all alone in the same position by shooting a 303 to finish with a 54-hole total of 934 (316-315-303). South Dakota State won the 15-team event with an 896.

The Redbirds return to action Oct. 3-4 when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to participate in the Missouri Valley Conference Preview at Dalhousie Country Club.

• Bradley junior Ally Scaccia (Prospect) shot an 81 to tie for 12th at the UIC Fall Invitational hosted by Illinois-Chicago in Lemont.

Bradley had two teams in the five-team tournament with the Braves finishing second and fourth. The top Bradley squad fired a 309 to finish 5 shots back of team champion Southern Illinois (304) while the second squad for the Braves turned in a 327 to take fourth.

• Illinois senior Stephanie Miller (Stevenson) led the Illini in the second round of play at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Knoxville, Tenn.

She finished with a +6 score, and tied for 29th in the final standings.

Miller turned in a first round score of 71, a round two score of 67, and a score of 81 in the final round.

Miller's four-under-par in the second round matches the feat by two of her teammates for seventh-lowest single round score in team history. Her 10 total birdies tied for the team lead with teammate Bing Singhsumalee.

The Fighting Illini recorded a 278-285-292 for a final score of 855 (+3) as they finished in second, tying their mark for the best finish for Illinois since winning the 2014 Diane Thomason Invitational.

The Illini's three-over-par score was the third-lowest 54-hole tournament score in program history.

Women's tennis

Augustana senior Dana Goggin (Buffalo Grove) and her sophomore partner Caitlyn Schaffer defeated Carthage's Max Mella and Angeline Emmanouil 8-6 at No. 1 doubles as the host Vikings won the meet 5-4. The Vikings' No. 2 doubles team of senior Lauren Goggin (Buffalo Grove) and freshman Zena Badawi held off Casey Frommer and Kristen Kalinka to score a 9-7 win. That gave Augustana an early 2-0 lead.

Rolling Meadows Feeder

Basketball tryouts for the Rolling Meadows feeder program will be Oct. 9 and 16 for seventh and eighth grade girls (9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) fifth and sixth grade girls (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), sixth grade boys (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) and seventh and eighth grade boys (3 p.m. to 5 p.m.).

The tryouts will be held at Rolling Meadows High School. For girls information contact Kirk Ingemunson (847) 878-3999 and for boys contact Mike Grady (630) 297-1413.

Elk Grove feeder

Tryouts for fifth through eighth graders Elk Grove Lady Grens feeder basketball program will be Tuesday Oct. 11 in the Elk Grove gymnasium from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Eligible players include girls from grades fifth through eighth who will attend Elk Grove High School. Athletes must bring a completed registration form and liability waiver form which is available online at https://sites.google.com/a/d214.org/eghs-girls-basketball/.

For any questions, contact Jennifer Guth at jennifer.guth @d214.org.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.

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