Geneva blasts Lancers in opener

Lauren Wicinski and her Geneva teammates have been waiting for the new season to open. Thursday night at Lake Park, they proved they were ready.

With Wicinski, a sophomore outside hitter, turning in a solid effort, the visiting Vikings knocked off the Lancers 25-9, 25-13 to kick off the new campaign in fine fashion.

"We've been practicing a lot and working real hard," said Wicinski, who had 9 kills and 8 digs for Geneva. "We were real excited for the first game. We were like, 'Let's go.' "

When setter Jenny Pokorny set up Wicinski for a kill and a 24-9 lead in Game 1, it was clear by then that Geneva was on and the hosts were off. A Lancers error on the next play gave the opener to Geneva and, with Pokorny spreading the ball around to several teammates, the Vikings had little trouble completing the two-game sweep.

"I thought I played pretty well, but it's because of the passes and the sets," said Wicinski, who started last season as a freshman.

Vikings coach KC Johnsen, whose lineup was missing senior hitter Rachel Urbells, was thrilled to see his young squad -- plus his veteran setter -- look sharp on Thursday.

"We jumped out pretty good and had a good start," he said. "And we've got a lot of young kids playing, so it's exciting to see them come out like they did tonight."

Lake Park coach Kate Clifton was not as pleased with her team's play. After a tough three-game loss to Conant in their season opener earlier this week, the Lancers (0-2) did not put up much of a fight against Geneva.

"It was a very off day," Clifton said. "We just weren't prepared mentally. Conference starts next week, and that's what we're working for now."

Noelle Fanella paced the Lancers with 4 kills and Chelsea Gieseke added 3.

For the Vikings, who jumped ahead 10-3 in Game 2 before closing out the match, Pokorny recorded 17 assists and 2 aces, with Wicinski and Alexa Sommer leading the way on offense.

"We had a question mark with Rachel out with mono, but Jennifer's a fabulous setter," Johnsen said. "We executed pretty well for our first match."

Geneva not only passed and hit well, but the visitors brought their defense with them to Roselle. Wicinski had 8 digs and Megan Odenthal and Taylor Whitely each added 7 digs for the winners.