Rockets make quick work of St. Ed
Just call them the BP Connection.
With sophomore standout hitter Stephanie Holthus on the shelf for another couple of weeks with a broken foot, Burlington Central girls volleyball coach Marv Leavitt has turned to senior Brooke Porto and junior Brittany Priest to step up and help take up the slack.
If Thursday night's performance at St. Edward is any indication of the BP Connection's ability to help keep the Rockets soaring until Holthus' return, Leavitt and his team can rest easy.
With Porto, the senior who came into the season expecting to be the team's libero, and Priest, a defensive specialist now starting at libero, leading the way, Central rolled to a 25-16, 25-17 win over the Green Wave in a nonconference match that took just 37 minutes to complete.
"I can't say enough about what Brooke Porto and Brittany Priest do to solidify our team with their passing," said Leavitt, the former St. Edward coach who gained his first win in his former home gym.
Porto has stepped into an outside hitter role and had 3 kills to help the offense while Priest contributed 7 digs and was 6 of 7 on serve receive as BC ran its record to 2-0 for the young season.
"We knew coming in (St. Edward) would be on us if we made mistakes," said Porto, the Rockets' co-captain. "As a team we focused really well tonight. We want to use these games to our advantage and test ourselves."
The Rockets didn't make many mistakes, and they served up 9 aces as well as used their powerful hitting game to keep the Wave (2-1) on their heels much of the night.
"Their serving was really tough," said St. Edward coach Jaime Walton of the Rockets. "They hit a lot of top-spin serves that were tough to receive. But that's something that's easy to adjust to so I'm not worried."
St. Edward hung tough in both games but BC runs midway through each game turned the tide. In Game 1, the Rockets held an 18-16 advantage when junior stalwart Molly Turk stepped to the line and served out the game, including registering 2 of her 3 aces on the game's final 2 points. A Porto tip kill to an open middle and two St. Edward errors also paved the way for the Game 1 win.
Game 2 stood at 13-10 in favor of Burlington when the visitors started pulling away, using several diving saves by Priest to keep the volley going. Meghan Zasada and Teresa Krog served BC out to a 19-11 advantage ands St. Edward never got closer than 7 points the rest of the way. With Porto serving, Krog slammed home match point from the middle.
"We're a strong serving team and this game still comes down to serving and serve receive," Leavitt said. "You can have girls who can hit the ball but you have to serve and return. We have a very experienced team and I'm real pleased with everyone's contributions but we still have to get better."
Rachael Latham led the Rockets' hitters with 6 kills while Turk added four. Kim Ingraham and Krog each had 4 blocks and Turk's precise setting accounted for 16 assists.
Kristen Haggenjos led St. Edward's offense with 7 kills. Katie Yohn added 5 kills, 2 blocks and 7 assists while Kristen Haggenjos had 8 digs and Margie Haggenjos four. Stephanie Kunold also contributed 7 assists for the Wave.
"Burlington's a very strong team all the way around," said Walton. "Defensively they were awesome tonight. They got to everything.
"But we need this experience against good teams. I like to play these games and see some of the best teams in the area. It's good to see this competition and get beat up a little. It's a good learning experience for us."