Girls volleyball: Battle, West Aurora outlasts Bartlett
As dominant a player as West Aurora sophomore Kendra Battle might be on the volleyball court she is well aware that it takes the whole team to be successful.
Battle had a dominating performance on Tuesday at Bartlett with 18 kills and 5 aces in a 25-16, 25-27, 25-15 Upstate Eight Valley Division win, but she was quick to give the credit to her teammates afterward.
"I wouldn't get any kills without good passes and good sets," Battle said. "That is where it all starts. My teammates did a great job. It's never just up to one player. We are a much better team when everyone is working together and everyone up at the net is involved."
Battle was right on with those comments. In Game 1 her teammates contributed a combined 8 kills and the Blackhawks rolled to an easy win. However, in Game 2 Battle was the Blackhawks' only real threat accounting for 6 of her team's 9 kills. The result was a loss. When the Blackhawks got back to getting everyone involved in Game 3 and Battle's teammates combined for 7 kills they were successful again.
"We just got out of our system in that second game and lost our rhythm," West Aurora coach Kevin Mortlock said. "It's important that we play together as a team and everyone contributes. Communication is a big piece of that. When we communicate on the floor good things happen."
The Blackhawks let a 22-18 lead in Game 2 slip away as Bartlett rallied to pull even at 24-24 before scoring 3 of the final 4 points to force a third game,
West Aurora (8-6, 2-0) bounced right back in Game 3. Battle had 3 aces during a 5-point service run that put the Blackhawks ahead 8-3. From there West Aurora continued to pull away to lead by as many as 12 points.
"We were a little hyped after that first game and kind of let our guard down," Battle said. "We recollected ourselves after losing the second game and knew we couldn't take anything for granted in that last game and came out strong,"
Farah Taki added 8 kills and 3 aces for the Blackhawks. Ally Riggs had 27 assists.
Bartlett (2-6, 1-2) was led by Emily Baggott with 4 kills and 3 aces. Samantha Martino had 12 digs and Dakota Johnson 18 assists.
Martino and Baggott had big kills down the stretch in Game 2 to help Bartlett rally back.
"Their will to win in that second game was great to see," Bartlett coach Katie Spychala said. "They saw an opportunity and ran with it. I just wished that would have carried it over to the last game. They definitely have it in them they just have to finish."