Saints, Bulldogs and Knights all win conference matches
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 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 3 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 both 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 went 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 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 was 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."
Batavia d. DeKalb 24-26, 25-18, 25-10: The Batavia girls volleyball team began Western Sun Conference play on a good note, beating the Barbs in 3 games.
"It was very important we shut the door on them…and took care of what we needed to," Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne said.
Passing plagued the Bulldogs in the first game, but Batavia made some changes and ended up coming back toward the end, yet still lost.
In the next two games, the offense ran better, as NIU-bound Kristin Hoffman recorded 9 of her team-high 19 kills in the second game.
Blocking was the key in the third game.
"We started blocking like crazy," Trippi-Payne said. "DeKalb started tipping the ball, so we started to run the offense."
Melissa Norville led the way in blocks with 4, along with her 5 kills. Hoffman added 14 digs. Laura Doolin finished with 26 assists, Taylor Koncelik added 5 kills and 3 blocks, and Lauren Mytnik contributed 3 aces and 13 digs.
The Bulldogs (3-4, 1-0) were aced just once by the Barbs (4-4, 0-1).
-- Christine Bolin
Kaneland d. Rochelle 19-25, 25-10, 25-23: Leading 24-23 in the third game, Lindsay Douglas' ace ended the match, giving the Knights their second win of the season. Douglas had 10 digs and 5 kills while Jessica Lubic finished with 7 kills and 7 assists.