Elgin earns big win over Larkin in 2

Smith, to Schwartz to Martin.

It doesn't roll of the tongue like Evers to Tinker to Chance, but the trio of girls volleyball players from Elgin proved to be as dependable as the legendary Cubs doubleplay combination in a 25-21, 25-22 nonconference sweep at cross-town rival Larkin Thursday.

Elgin junior libero Alex Smith dug 5 balls and made 11 quality passes to senior setter Amanda Schwartz, who finished with 14 assists.

Punctuating most of those assists was 5-foot-8 freshman Kendall Martin, who looked right at home in her first varsity match even though she conceded afterward: "Oh my God, I was so nervous."

It didn't show.

A 14-year old with two seasons of Club Fusion volleyball under her belt, Martin was the most effective hitter on the court. She converted 12-of-14 attempts and delivered big hits in key situations.

"We lost (outside hitter Sarah) Schmerber last year and it's good we got a new one," Schwartz said. "(Martin) has a little experience. Even if I do a bad set, she can still get it over."

Game 2 was tied 15-15 when Elgin committed 4 straight hitting errors, forcing first-year coach Keith Foster to call timeout. He doled out some strategy (find the well and the corners) and told his team to take a deep breath and relax.

Larkin helped Elgin do just that by sending the ensuing serve into the net, marking the beginning of a disturbing late-game trend: the Royals' final 4 service attempts would find nothing but net.

Elgin middle hitter Ellen Holton served back-to-back aces to pull the Maroons within 20-19. "I was trying to serve it to their weakest player in the back row and trying to get it in spots they weren't really getting to," Holton said. "Right on the line -- I was pretty proud of myself."

Elgin won the next point to knot the game at 20 when Schwartz deked a set, then smartly backhanded the ball at the net for a kill.

Larkin answered by taking leads of 21-20 and 22-21 but gave it right back each time with a bad serve.

"At the varsity level we should be serving over the net consistently," Larkin coach Gail Johnson said. "It's mental errors. That was the game."

Said Larkin right side Ashley Gazda of her team's service trouble: "That's not us. I think we got too caught up in the moment and let it go at the end. Serving killed us because we could have had so many points."

Martin helped finish off Larkin (0-2) by nailing a Schwartz set through a block for a 23-22 lead. The Maroons proceeded to close out the match when a Larkin tip found the tape and an Elgin overpass somehow fell to the floor on Larkin's side of the net for match point.

The opening-night win was the first for Foster as coach of the Elgin Maroons.

"It was thrilling to win our first game, especially against Larkin, a good program and a nice coach who does a really good job," Foster said. "I was really happy.

"I watched (Larkin) Tuesday and they played well. They have a scrappy defense like their coach has said. They work real hard. We had to earn our points, which is why I'm so happy about this win. It wasn't given to us. We earned it."

Game 1 saw nine ties through 21-21 before Martin crushed a cross-court set from Schwartz to take a late lead. Elgin rattled off the next 3 points, including an ace by Schwartz at game point.

"In the first game we were picking more spots on the floor, which is what we need to do," Johnson said. "They were just getting tentative and nervous at the end. They weren't swinging."