Rockets click when needed, down Larkin

It's only the first week of September, but Burlington Central looked in midseason form Tuesday night, at least for one game. Using a balanced attack, the Rockets downed Larkin, 25-8, 25-17, in nonconference girls volleyball action on Rocket Hill.

When the Rockets get hitter Stephanie Holthus back from injury, they could be really scary. However, they were plenty good enough to get the job done Tuesday.

With setter Molly Turk leading the way, Central stormed to early leads in both games and never looked back. Turk finished with 13 assists, and 9 kills. Rachael Latham added 7 kills, and Kim Ingraham and Teresa Krog had 6 apiece for the Rockets.

"Molly is just a phenomenal setter," said Central coach Marv Leavitt. "She gets the ball to the hitters in a really hittable spot. She gets the middles going and we have a nice outside right now."

Leading 2-1 in Game 1, the Rockets scored 9 straight points with Krog at the service line. The run included 3 of the Rockets' 13 aces. Central increased the lead to 16-3 and 19-4.

After taking a 6-1 lead in the second game, the Rockets (6-2) appeared to lose focus for a bit while the Royals regrouped. Larkin closed to within 3 points three times. But a hard kill by Turk and Krog's ace got the Rockets back on track.

The Royals (0-3) made some adjustments in the second game.

"We moved a little bit quicker on our blocks," said Larkin coach Gail Johnson. "When you don't put up a block, it's hard to play defense, especially against a nice, strong-hitting team like Burlington Central."

Jessica Garrity led Larkin with 4 kills and 2 block kills. Liza Smithberger had 4 assists.

On the other side, Leavitt felt his team let up a bit after the easy first-game win.

"We were not focused, we were missing our serves, and we just had a little talk about that," he said. "We play at two different levels. We have to decide which level we're going to play at."

St. Charles East d. Elgin: Maddie Boyd was ready for Game 2.

After Boyd and St. Charles East snuck by host Elgin in Game 1, the Saints left nothing to the Maroons' imagination taking the 2-game set 25-19, 25-8 in the Upstate Eight Conference opener for both teams.

"Over the three-day weekend we had no volleyball," said Boyd, who led all players with 8 kills. "The second game was a lot better. Our serve receive was better. Everything just clicked together."

Boyd recorded 3 kills and Elgin (1-5, 0-1) had three hitting errors, which both played huge factors in St. Charles East (7-1, 1-0) controlling the entire game. The Saints led by as much as 15-3, after the teams started tied at 3.

The Saints were playing without starting middle Courtney Sjostrom. Sjostrom was out ill for Tuesday's game, but in her absence the Saints got a huge boost from Boyd, sophomore Caroline Niski (4 kills, 4 digs) and Laura Homann (15 assists, 6 kills, 6 digs, 2 blocks, 2 aces).

Homann broke a 10-all tie in Game 1 with a kill and then added to the Saints' lead when her block made it 12-10. She also extended a 14-13 lead to 15-13 with a kill and from 16-15 to 17-15 with an ace.

"We were glad to get this (win)," St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull said. "This was a whole team effort. Elgin came out strong and ready to play."

Elgin and St. Charles East battled neck-and-neck for the majority of the first game. Maroons' middle hitter Ellen Holton nailed one of her 9 blocks to tie the game at 15. The Saints would then go on a 10-5 run to end the game. Holton brought Elgin back to 19-17, which is the closest the Maroons would get the remainder of the game.

"The girls came out pumped," Elgin coach Keith Foster said. "The girls were ready to go. We're a young team and when you're a young team, you're going to have highs and lows."

The Maroons took a 10-8 lead on another Holton block, but St. Charles East quickly tied the game at 10, which is the last time the Saints trailed. The fast start and constant momentum allowed Elgin to walk away on a positive note. Elgin got 16 assists from Amanda Schwartz and 5 kills from freshman Kendall Martin.

"We showed in the first game that we could come out strong," Elgin middle hitter Mary Taylor said. "I know that we can come out strong and that's really encouraging."

-- Matt Stacionis

Dundee-Crown d. Grayslake Central: Kathleen Collingbourne had 6 kills and 5 aces, Amanda Lutzow slammed 8 kills and Stephanie Thorson had 12 assists as Dundee-Crown (1-1) downed Grayslake Central 25-17, 25-22 in nonconference action.

CL Central d. CL South: Central (8-0) remained unbeaten for the season with a 26-25, 25-17 defeat of nonconference foe South. Carly Hayes had 9 kills while Rachael Thornquist and Kathryn Chrystal added 7 each for the Tigers.

Erin Johnson (6 kills, 6 blocks) and Kaitlin Schumacher (6 kills, 9 digs) led South (4-3).

Jacobs d. Grayslake North: Lauren Pigatto had 15 kills, 4 blocks and 5 digs as Jacobs (3-4) won this hard-fought nonconference match 29-27, 18-25, 25-23. Stacie Weinart added 7 kills and 8 digs for the Golden Eagles (3-4) while Brittney Masciola had 12 digs and 3 aces. Keri Bultman added 4 kills and 2 blocks and Erica Liss contributed 4 kills, 3 blocks, 10 digs and 33 assists. Carlie Schwabe also had 4 aces and 11 digs for Jacobs.

Hampshire d. Hinckley-Big Rock: Kara Wehrs had 15 assists and Ken Kondrat 18 digs as Hampshire (7-0) rolled to a 25-9, 25-15 nonconference win. Jenna Karkos added 6 kills and Jaclyn Clai 4 kills for the Whip-Purs and Amy Wehrs served 5 aces.

Huntley d. McHenry: Krissy Bergquist had 11 kills, 7 digs and 3 aces as Huntley (4-3) scored a 20-25, 25-17, 25-15 nonconference win. Toni Jaehnig added 9 kills, 10 digs and 2 aces and Taylor Karns had 16 digs for the Red Raiders. Allyson Stellmach also contributed 14 digs and 4 kills.

Alden-Hebron d. Westminster Christian: Jessica Benson had 7 digs and 4 kills and Katie Webster added 5 digs and 2 kills but Westminster (1-5) fell to Alden-Hebron 25-17, 25-15 in nonconference action.