Saints pack youthful punch
After falling behind 18-11 in its first game of the year against Wheaton North on Tuesday, the St. Charles East girls volleyball team used a timeout to take a deep breath and try to relax.
You couldn't blame the Saints for having some first-game jitters. After all, St. Charles East ran out a starting lineup featuring two freshmen along with a pair of sophomores.
"They just needed to relax and play. There was a lot of nerves going on," Saints coach Jennie Kull said. "I knew that that was what was going to happen."
Once the uncertainty subsided, the Saints sharpened up, earning a 25-21, 25-10 road victory in Wheaton.
St. Charles East crept within 18-16 after Kull called for timeout, and the Saints took their first lead of the night at 21-20. Setter Laura Homann found junior Jacqui Seidel for a kill to seal the comeback victory.
With its first game finally in the rear view mirror, St. Charles East relaxed even more, never being threatened in the second game to defeat the Falcons in two.
"We were able to then pass better and then run our offense a little bit better," Kull said. "By being able to relax a little bit and play, we were able to get back into our rhythm."
Homann paced the Saints with 11 assists, and as one of only four seniors on the team, provided leadership through the rocky beginning.
"Out on the court, we'd come out and be like 'everyone take a breath,'" Homann said. "I think all of the returning players are just bringing a lot of experience to the court, and we're trying to get the -freshmen accustomed to it, showing them where to be and what to do."
Freshman hitter Meghan Niski nailed all three of her kills in the second game, including the final point of the match.
While the Wheaton North roster boasted nearly all juniors and seniors, the Falcons (0-1) had troubles of their own as they struggled to adapt not only to coach Carole Kristensen's new system, but to jelling with one another as well.
"It's a brand-new team out there. I only have one returning starter, and she's playing a totally different position," Kristensen said, "I have a setter who was on varsity last year, but she didn't set that much.
"In the second game we just kind of deflated a little bit. I think they were still trying to (think), 'Are we still in the right positions, are we doing OK?'"