Defense does the trick for North Stars

Whether on the winning or losing side of a 25-11, 25-10 match Tuesday night in St. Charles, St. Charles North and Lake Park coaches agreed on one thing.

Defense was the difference.

For the North Stars, it was their best defensive effort of the season that had coach Lindsay Trudell grinning from ear to ear afterward.

"This is the first time we've played that good of defense," Trudell said. "Especially on coverage, we gave our hitters a chance to swing and not be intimidated by the block because our girls were there to cover it. I was very pleased with our hustle tonight, I was very happy with the way they played together."

That defense helped the North Stars improve to 12-9 overall and 6-2 in the Upstate Eight with conference matches remaining against Elgin and Waubonsie Valley.

St. Charles North never trailed in either game.

"Our defense played really good today, really moving well," captain Karlie Giesler said.

The North Stars got off to a near-perfect start in Game 1, racing to a 9-1 lead with only one mistake by Lake Park helping. St. Charles North found holes in the Lancers' defense, with a pair of tip kills by Giesler and another from Jen Ask.

"Not our best (game)," Lake Park coach Kate Clifton said. "A little bit of defense we need to work on."

Lake Park got as close as 12-8 behind a couple blocks from Chelsea Gieseke. It proved to be just a brief lull for the North Stars, who closed out the game on a 13-3 run.

Everything seemed to be clicking, with only 4 of the 25 points coming on Lancer errors. Middle hitter Allie Van Dril, who did most of her damage with 5 blocks, ended the game with an ace that landed on the back line.

St. Charles North improved on its 9-1 Game 1 start in the second game, leading 9-0 before the Lancers scored their first point on Sarah Drozdowski's block.

The North Stars never let up. Hard serving by Kristin Nelson keyed a 5-point run and a 15-2 lead.

Nelson served one of the team's 6 aces. Annie Stoermer and Kari Roberts both fired 2 aces.

"We served tough," Trudell said. "That's something we've been able to do all season." The North Stars will try to continue their momentum, and their improved defense, this weekend at the Mizuno Cup. They start with a difficult pool play assignment Friday against Naperville Central and Rosary.

"We want to show how much we've improved," Giesler said.