Elgin's improvement noticeable in many ways

Last year, Elgin's girls volleyball team sported a 6-24 mark. A season later, the Maroons are off to a 3-4 start, which included winning the consolation portion of the Jacobs tournament last weekend.

Elgin also took Neuqua Valley to three games in Upstate Eight Conference play earlier this week and downed crosstown rival Larkin in the season-opener.

"It's been a huge turnaround," said Elgin coach Keith Foster. "We've got an entirely different team. We've got stability in the program now. Girls are staying year-to-year. They know how to play with each other. The communication has been the key."

Team captains Mary Taylor and Lindsey Morrow were cited for their strong leadership abilities.

"Both are great leaders," said Foster. "They do a great job of helping us stop runs. Last year we would give up big runs and end up losing games. They help keep the team encouraged and positive and encourage us to get sideouts."

Sophomore Kendall Martin, an all-conference and all-area performer as a freshman, continues to be a force for the Maroons.

"Kendall is a stud," said Foster. "She's right back at it again. She averaged 6-7 kills per game and 12-14 kills per match for us."

Ellen Holton has helped ease Martin's workload.

"Ellen has done a great job as a middle hitter for us," said Foster. "She's taking the pressure off Kendall and not allowing teams to cheat over on her."

Abbey Houde, in her first year as a varsity setter, has also drawn rave reviews.

"She's very smart and very quick," said Foster of Houde.

Morrow has been a major presence in the back row.

"Our success is directly related to our passing," said Foster. "Our passing had fallen short in the past, but we've done a good job of staying consistent with it this year."

St. Edward update: St. Edward standout Kristen Haggenjos (committed to Loyola) was sidelined temporarily with a twisted ankle and missed the team's match with Burlington Central.

"I think it would have been a better match if we had Kristen," said St. Edward coach Jaime Walton. "She's back now. She's not 100 percent, but she provides a lot of on-floor leadership. She's a big part of our team. She's a good leader for us."

With Haggenjos back, St. Edward beat Suburban Catholic Conference foe Immaculate Conception in three games earlier this week.

Walton has been encouraged with how her team is taking to a new offense that is designed to get the middles involved more.

"It gets our middles a lot more active," said Walton. "Down the road it is going to help us out. It's nice to spread our offense out so opponents don't key on Kristin. Our middles are working hard at staying active and being a part of the offense. By about mid-season I think our offense is going to look real nice."

That middle attack features 3-sport standout Katie Yohn (who also sets), Tess Berry and Molly Kelly.

St. Edward has also seen defensive production from a pair of youngsters in sophomore Margie Haggenjos and freshman Katie Ayello.

"Maggie was our libero as a freshman and did a nice job," said Walton. "Both of them are club players so they know the fast-paced game."

Senior Rachel Varley sets out of the 6-2 offense with Yohn.

"Rachel is definitely a big part of our offense," said Walton.

St. Edward heads south for its annual trip to the Effingham tournament this weekend.

"It's about a four-and-a-half hour drive," said Walton. "It's a very strong tournament that usually has some state champions. St. Francis is there. There have been champions from Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky there."

Hampshire update: The Whip-Purs, who finished second in the state in Class 2A last year, were off to a 7-0 start through mid-week. Hampshire had been pushed to 3 games in only 2 of the 7 contests.

"We've started a lot of juniors," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse, who is in her fourth year at Hampshire and was 8 wins shy of 100 for her career after the 7-0 start. "We've got one senior returning and a couple of players from last year that bring a lot of leadership on the court. Our captains have done a great job leading this team."

Junior sisters Amy and Kara Wehrs, a pair of Division I recruits, are the team captains. Both were named to the all-tournament team at Oregon recently.

"This is a team that is willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to reach their potential every day," said Whitehouse. "They come into practice intense and ready to work."

Ball control has been Hampshire's calling card thus far.

"Right now ball control and our serve-receive are our strongest points. That's why we are winning," said Whitehouse. "We're always getting that sideout. If you serve-receive well you can sideout. And in rally scoring, that's a point every time."

Juniors Jen Hubbe (OH) and Chessa Osiecki (libero) have also been key contributors for the Whip-Purs.

"The nice thing is these girls have played together a lot and they work well together," said Whitehouse. "We played in a summer league and did a team camp together in the Wisconsin Dells. They are very familiar with each other."

Hampshire opens up Big Northern Conference East Division play next week against North Boone.

Dundee-Crown update: So much for inexperience.

The Chargers, with very little in the way of returning varsity experience, jumped out to a 3-0 mark to start the season.

"We're really inconsistent," said D-C coach Tracy Williams. "But we've got a lot of kids willing to put in a lot of effort and work real hard. It's going to take more game experience to get where I think we should be. This year, I've had to teach more than in the past 10 years. We've got a lot of young kids. It's been a learning experience for everybody."

All three of D-C's wins have gone the distance.

"It's a positive," said Williams. "We're fighting back and that's a good sign. Being 3-0 is a real big thing to have that sense of accomplishment."

Returning all-conference performer Stephanie Thorson (3-year varsity performer) has moved from the right to outside this year.

"It's been an adjustment," said Williams. "She's definitely a leader on the floor and somebody that we want to get the ball to. She was second on the team in kills last year. She will be a big force this year. She's a smart player who really gets into it. She's an emotional player. You can tell she loves the sport."

Junior Katie Cutinello has done a solid job running the offense.

"Katie has stepped right in where she left off last year setting," said Williams.

Burlington Central update: The Rockets were 6-2 through mid-week with their only losses coming to Geneva and Joliet Catholic (in 3 games).

"I'm pretty pleased," said Central coach Marv Leavitt. "We're off to a pretty good start. We've won matches we are supposed to and have been competitive in the others. I thought we played well against Geneva and Joliet Catholic-two strong teams. We're real competitive. We're not quite there yet. We still have some work to do."

Central has had little trouble on the offensive end.

Northwestern University signee Stephanie Holthus was hitting a staggering .530 through mid-week and already had 105 kills in 17 games (6.18 kills per game).

"She's seeing a double-block all the time," said Leavitt.

Molly Turk (Northern Iowa recruit), splitting time at setter out of Central's 6-2 offense, was hitting .490, while Florida transfer Taylor Scully was hitting nearly .400.

"Offensively we've been able to put the ball down and get some sideouts," said Leavitt, who won his 500th career match at the Geneva tournament.

Leavitt would like to see his team continue to work on the blocking aspect.

"We're a very short team. We have to improve our blocking," said Leavitt. "We have to get stronger with our serve. Our serve has to take teams away from the net so our height disadvantage isn't as strong."

Central has 2 freshmen in the starting lineup in setter Kaitlyn O'Reilly and libero Sam Bohne. Turk sets 4 out of the 6 rotations.

"We've got seven new kids out of the 11 this year," said Leavitt.

Westminster Christian update: The Warriors recently recorded their second win quicker than any other Westminster girls volleyball team, according to coach Guy Lum.

"I'm very proud of how hard the girls work," said Lum. "We're playing very competitively for having lost four starters from last year. We're starting off better than we ever have. We're taking a lot of teams to three games."

Lum was pleased with how his team rebounded from a 2-game loss to Hinckley-Big Rock.

"We played them in a tournament and lost in two and then played them again and took them to three," said Lum.

The Warriors have succeeded thanks to a strong defensive output.

"Our defense and ball control is the strongest," said Lum. "We're serving real well and combining that with our defense and our serve-receive. We're keeping the ball off the floor and making teams make mistakes before we do."

Jessica Benson leads the team on the offensive end, while Sarah Rodgers and Emily Bicksford have been helping the cause.

Crystal Lake South update: The Gators suffered a blow on the injury front when middle Beth McGinn went down with a knee injury that has sidelined her indefinitely.

But South coach Jorie Fontana was impressed with how her team rallied in its victory over Huntley earlier in the week.

"The injury hit at a point where we were comfortable and used to each other," said Fontana. "But we adjusted and played our best game of the year (against Huntley). The first game we were tight and had some unforced errors. The second game was everything we talked about what we should be doing with the talent we have."

Erin Johnson (University of Illinois recruit) and Katie Trayser have been two key cogs for the Gators.

"Erin is definitely a force people will have to deal with," said Fontana, whose team started the year 6-1. "Katie has been an overall consistent leader for us on the court. She was our kills leader against Huntley."

Streamwood update: The Sabres were 1-6 through their first 7 matches of the year.

"We've struggled a little bit, but it's still early," said Streamwood coach Kevin Kwon. "We're still looking to compete. We need to fix some weaknesses we are facing, but they are all fixable."

Betsy Holman, Melissa Oehlerking and Leslie Ramos have led the way for the Sabres.

"We've still got 28-29 matches to go," said Kwon. "It's still early."

Larkin update: The Royals recently notched their first win of the season against Hoffman Estates.

"We're playing more as a team," said Larkin coach Gail Johnson. "We're more aggressive at the net. We're getting more touches. We need to keep improving our serve-receive so we have more opportunities to hit.

Isadora Borrero, a move-in from Puerto Rico, has been a bright spot for the Royals.

"She's done a great job in the middle. She's a very strong player," said Johnson.

Senior Jessica Harris has provided a multi-dimensional game for the Royals.

"Jessica has done a great job passing out of the back row and also in the front row with her attack," said Johnson.

Johnson is looking forward to the rest of the season.

"They are a strong team," said Johnson. "They need to believe they are a strong team. I believe they will win a lot more games this season if they keep playing the way they have been playing."

Huntley update: The Red Raiders are fresh off a sixth-place finish at the Plainfield North tournament.

"We lost to a good (Crystal Lake) South team there, the same team we lost to (this past Tuesday)," said Huntley coach Michelle Jakubowski.

Jakubowski likes the way her team had battled in its first eight contests of the season (4-4 start).

"I like our ability to come back," said Jakubowski. "At the beginning of matches we've been down 6-1 or 6-2 and then all of a sudden it's 20-20. We've done a nice job of keeping the ball in play when people are hitting at us."

Freshman Amy Dion was lauded for her strong defense, while Amy Fanella has brought a key intangible to the table for Huntley.

"Amy Fanella has been great on defense," said Jakubowski. "She brings a great energy and can really keep the team going."

Jakubowski would like to erase Tuesday's loss against Crystal Lake South from the memory banks.

"If you take that 1 game out of the season, it's been very satisfying so far," said Jakubowski. "As long as we keep building and keep getting better, I think we can be very successful later in the season."

Fox Valley Lutheran update: The Falcons recently won the Luther South tournament.

"The girls had one goal and that was to win," said FVLA coach Ashleigh Mounger. "They played their hearts out to do just that."

FVLA scored wins over Luther South and Holy Trinity. Sarah Mounger, Samantha Pfortmiller and Tegan Pfortmiller were named to the all-tournament team.

Sarah Mounger later had 7 services aces in a two-game loss to Mooseheart. Samantha Pfortmiller had 5 aces in the match.

FVLA started the season with a 25-16, 25-14 loss to North Shore Country Day. Sarah Mounger had 3 aces and 3 digs for the Falcons.