All together now, Neuqua Valley edges Glenbard South
The gang is getting back together for Neuqua Valley.
After a number of injuries and illnesses, the Wildcats had everyone back for the first time in Thursday night's girls volleyball match at Glenbard South. They needed each of those players to outlast the Raiders.
Neuqua Valley took a 22-25, 25-22, 25-17 nonconference win in Glen Ellyn.
"There have been practices we haven't even had enough (players) to run the drills we need to run," Wildcats coach Kelly Simon said. "So this is really our first night of getting everybody together out there. We need more of that and we know we have a lot of things to work on."
It took a while for the Wildcats to find their groove, while Glenbard South settled in very quickly. The Raiders jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first game, with Maggie Bair hitting 6 kills and fellow senior Isabel Santana serving for 6 points.
"Everything was going their way and they were executing very, very well," Simon said of the Raiders (4-9). "They do a lot of great things. A lot of it was momentum, and then, yeah, exactly, executing. I give them a lot of credit. I mean they're a really good team."
"We all knew that we had to turn a switch on and be a lot more positive because we were down in a rut," added Wildcats senior Karly Miller. "We had to come back and we knew that. So we brought up the energy and we fought."
Neuqua Valley (5-3) fought to within a point seven times before tying the game at 20. But the Raiders pulled away, clinching the game on another Bair kill.
"We have been having a little bit of trouble with getting big leads and letting teams back in the game, so that's a little bit disappointing," Glenbard South coach Chad Grant said. "We were able to weather the storm there in the first game and come out on top. Then same thing in Game 2, but not as big of a lead."
In Game 2 Neuqua Valley got over the hump, not only pulling even but taking the lead for good at 18-17.
"This was a playoff atmosphere," Grant said. "Loud gym. You lose today and you learn and it makes you better in the long run. They're a good team. They deserve a lot of credit for the serving pressure they put on us at the end of the match. They made a lot of plays there in crunchtime to make it difficult for us, and they're going to win a lot of games this year."
Miller provided 27 assists and 4 aces at setter. Faith Johnson added energy with 18 kills and 10 digs for the Wildcats.
"I thought she did really good. She came back and she just kept on going, even if the call wasn't what she thought it was. She just kept on pushing and she made it," Miller said.
Bair finished with 15 kills, 5 blocks and 8 digs. Kathleen Millett added 7 kills, 10 digs and 2 blocks for the Raiders, and Beth Kohl had 8 assists.