Waubonsie hands SCN its 1st UEC loss
A quick look around the Waubonsie Valley gymnasium Tuesday revealed plenty of signs that it was senior night for the Warriors.
But after knocking off the previously unbeaten Upstate Eight Conference leaders from St. Charles North, some Warriors players were looking at more than just balloons, signs and special T-shirts. A glance up at the school's banners shows that Waubonsie Valley has not won a UEC title in girls volleyball since 1996.
Tuesday's impressive 25-19, 25-21 win drew the Warriors even with the visiting Stars at 8-1 in conference play with another big date Thursday, when the Warriors play at St. Charles East, which also entered Tuesday's action with one loss in the UEC.
"We were really pumped up because we needed this for conference and we wanted to do it for the seniors too," said Kari Galen, who had 5 blocks on Tuesday and a kill that ended Game 1. "If we play as hard as we did tonight, we can definitely beat them (Saints) Thursday. It's been a while since we won conference and it's definitely a goal of ours."
St. Charles North, which has won the UEC the last three years, could have knocked the Warriors out of contention. Instead they lost in a match that was Waubonsie's best effort so far this season. The Warriors (20-7) shined on defense, served well and outside hitter Joslyn Drew had another big night with 10 kills.
"I'm pretty excited," Waubonsie Valley coach Kristen Stuart said. "They've been pumped up for this game for a week. And being senior night helped."
North Stars coach Lindsay Trudell was disappointed with her team's play in such a big match, but credited the Warriors' defense with causing some of her team's woes on this night.
"That resembled nothing of what my team is capable of doing," she said of her 18-9 squad. "Waubonsie just dug us out of the gym. They completely took us out of our system. What a letdown."
With 6-foot-2 Gretchen Gieser and 6-1 Lindsay Williams playing the middle, the North Stars usually create matchup problems for opponents. But the Warriors countered with strong blocking and nonstop ball-hawking.
"We came in with the mentality that we needed this to get first in conference," said Katrina Boryc, who along with Stephanie Demos led the Warriors with 5 digs apiece. "It's always frustrating when the team on the other side is digging you. It's a strong point for us."
With Demos providing strong serves, the Warriors jumped ahead in the opener 13-6 following a kill by Drew. But St. Charles North battled back and trailed just 19-18 following a kill by Rachel Huber. But a missed serve and a hitting error enabled the Warriors to close out the game with a 6-1 run.
In Game 2 the Warriors went up 19-12 following a winner from Alana Jones before the North Stars closed the gap to 22-20 only to have the hosts complete the sweep as a big dig by Taylor Gillhouse on match point set up Nicole Salmon's match-ending spike.