Girls volleyball: Grant serves itself a win at Wauconda

Live by the serve; die by the serve.

At Grant High School, they teach the volleyball players how to serve with a purpose. That paid a big dividend Thursday - eventually.

In the first set at Wauconda on senior night, Grant setter Kate Kiser notched 3 quick serving aces as her team 16-11 team stormed to a 25-16 win.

And then Grant missed five serves in set two. And those other Bulldogs from Wauconda went on a 41-28 binge - a 25-17 win in set two and a 16-11 advantage in the decisive third set.

"It was all serving,'' noted Grant standout Hannah Johnson.

And then Grant went back to the serving line. Johnson's efforts pulled Grant back into the match. Kayla Dabrowski's serving gave Grant the lead for good.

Grant spoiled senior night in Wauconda with a 25-16, 17-25, 25-19 victory.

"Serving is all mental, and it takes focus,'' Dabrowski said. "But I'm still shaking from the match."

Again, Grant was all over that first set. With Johnson again at serving line, the Grant lead jumped to 15-6.

"Hannah decided that we were going to win tonight, said Grant coach Michele Keenan.

Johnson nailed a few aces and got kills from Emily Bringer and Kiser.

"We have to overcome their senior night,'' Kiser said. "We got our confidence back."

And then as if someone had flipped the script, all the momentum went over to the Wauconda side.

Grant's lead was 7-4 when the home team made its move. Taylor Arden and Nicole Carazas had kills and Wauconda had the lead at 9-8. Wauconda closed the second set with kills from Hayley Redmann, Samantha Sasin and Carazas.

"We still have some inexperience,'' said Wauconda coach Alison Williams. "And we were struggling with our serve receive. We are still looking for that consistency. We have to be better and need to finish these matches."

Again, Wauconda stormed ahead in the decisive third set. Carazas opened with a serving ace and Redmann and Amanda Mason had kills. The Wauconda lead was 12-7.

"We didn't seem have much offense tonight,'' Keenan said. "In the last two weeks, we are beginning to feel the pressure."

Wauconda would have one more kill the rest of the night, from Gabrielle Fugle. Still, the Wauconda lead looked solid at 16-11.

Those serving aces were wild on this night. Kiser was credited with 8 aces.

Johnson was a close second on her team with 6 aces.

"We are very aggressive serving team,'' Keenan said.

Kiser ran the offense and finished with 22 assists. She also added 3 kills. Johnson paced her team with 8 kills. Bringer had 5 kills. And Dabrowski added 2 kills and 5 digs. Johnson also paced her team with 9 digs.

Wauconda (12-14) had 4 kills, 5 digs and and 2 aces from Carazas. Both Sasin and Fugle had 3 kills. Summer Olson had 4 aces and 7 assists, while libero Jane Sakowicz had 14 digs. Aimee Berg had 7 assists, 2 aces and a kill.