Girls volleyball: Downers North sneaks up on Waubonsie Valley field

Two weeks into the girls volleyball season, some outsiders looking at a 4-3 record might have been quick to write off Downers Grove North.

But volleyball fans paying attention knew the Trojans had plenty of talent this fall. They also knew the team was dropping matches to state powers like Marian Catholic, Mother McAuley and Benet while opening up with a less-than-stellar record early on.

Fast forward to Saturday at the Waubonsie Valley Warrior Blast, and Downers Grove North was knocking off Batavia 26-24, 25-19 to capture its second straight title at the 12-team tournament. The 15-5 Trojans have now won 11 of 13 matches, with the lone setbacks coming against powers Marist and Sandburg at the Wheaton Classic, where they finished a solid fourth.

"We played some tough teams at the beginning of the season, but yeah we've been doing really well lately," said senior outside hitter Clare Delaplane, who had 10 kills in Saturday's finals. "I feel like everyone's been improving and it's exciting."

The 6-foot-1 Villanova-bound Delaplane, whose perfectly placed smash to the corner ended the match, was named to the all-tourney team at Waubonsie Valley along with Margaret Mahlke, a St. Louis University commit who had 8 kills against the Bulldogs.

Trojans coach Mark Wasik was happy to see Delaplane step up her game late in the second set, allowing the Trojans to sweep a Batavia squad that had taken them to three sets in Friday's pool play. But he also knows his star's teammates are equally important to the team's recent success.

Payton Wendt has been big in the middle and libero Kessie Olekanma has been regularly frustrating opponents with acrobatic digs.

"Those swings at the end were huge," he said in reference to Delaplane's attacks late. "Front row and back row. Plus we are way more balanced this year. Our middles are continually getting better … and yep, Kessie is touching a lot of balls and really making some good ups defensively."

For a young Bulldogs squad, reaching the Warrior Blast finals for just the second time since 2000 was a nice accomplishment. On the heels of a runner-up finish at the Jacobs tournament, the effort shows the team has made big strides already this season.

"We're a real young team so it's a great deal to get second," said Bulldogs junior Maddy Boyer, who had 8 kills. "Of course we wanted first place, but we never gave up in that game. And we kept fighting back. It was awesome. We're so proud. I don't think we've ever played better."

Downers Grove North stormed out to a 9-1 lead in the opener only to see Batavia (13-10) draw even first at 12-12, and then seven more times, including 24-24 following a block kill by Cordelia Smith. From there, however, the Trojans used a kill from Mahlke and a block by Wendt to claim the first set.

"A few unforced errors at the end and we missed a few serves," Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. "We made that huge comeback, but it's really hard to play at that intensity the whole match as good as that Downers North team is. But we've been in two tournament championships. Not too many schools can say that."

Neuqua Valley, which dropped a three-setter with the Trojans in the semis, beat Yorkville in the third-place match. The host Warriors finished fifth.