Girls volleyball: Grant stands tall in playoff opener
No, she's not the shortest libero in the world. But even on a good day, Katy Fisherkeller is vertically challenged.
No matter, the Grant High School senior has found a way to stand tall, figuratively, on the volleyball court.
On Monday night in the Grant gym, the regional season kicked off as Mundelein was the guest. Two things clearly played a part in the decision.
One, the Grant team has been on a hot streak lately. And Mundelein, having just knocked off North Suburban Conference champion Lake Zurich, was playing at a disadvantage because of injuries and illness.
None of the the three sets was close. Grant won easily in set one. Mundelein breezed in set two before Grant again ran away in the third set.
Fisherkeller (14 digs, 5 aces) helped the Bulldogs pull off a 25-18, 18-25, 25-16 win. The Bulldogs will return on Tuesday to battle rival Lakes at 5:30 p.m., with a matchup between Marian Central and Stevenson to follow.
"It was a great, fantastic match,'' Fisherkeller said. "We really came together in that first set. We had our mojo going. In that second set, we were there but not really."
Serving clearly played part in this match. Kayla Dabrowski opened the match with two of the Bulldogs' 9 serving aces.
"We started in a strong position,'' Dabrowski said. "And Mundelein started to swing it."
Mundelein junior Isabella Cartland (12 kills) was seemingly at the service line for a half-hour. She took her turn with the second set knotted at 7-7.
Taking advantage of 3 straight kills from Alexis Naddy (11 kills), the Mustangs opened a 16-8 lead in the second set.
"This is a crazy sport,'' said Mundelein coach George Dressen. "We had to go with a different lineup because of sickness and injuries, but it gave opportunities to other girls."
With Emily Bringer (6 kills) serving for Grant in set one, the Bulldogs pulled away. Megan Mitchell (11 kills) had a pair of kills in the rally.
"Those 9 aces got them out of system,'' said Grant coach Michele Keenan. "We knew Mundelein was getting better. They were the walking wounded tonight. We had to withstand their serving in set two."
Dabrowski (5 kills) was at the line, and behind three straight kills from Bringer, the Bulldogs pulled out a quick 6-2 lead in the decisive third set.
The lead expanded from there. Dabrowski and Fisherkeller both fired off a pair of aces in the third set and the Bulldogs' lead was 18-11.
Mundelein (12-20) lost several matches in three sets. Dressen's team has just one senior on the team. So look out for the Mustangs in the next few seasons.
In this match, the Mustangs were without the services of middle blocker Thea Vogt and outside hitter Gillian Paul.
The Bulldogs, (15-18) winners of 10 of their last 12 matches, will be ready for the matchup with favorite Lakes.
Mitchell backed up Fisherkeller with 11 digs for the Bulldogs. Dabrowski had 3 aces.
Olivia Cartland and Taylor Heath had 4 kills for Mundelein, while Isabella Cartland contributed 14 digs for the Mustangs.