WW South showing improvement

Bill Schreier doesn't teach chemistry at Wheaton Warrenville South - but he isn't afraid to tinker with his girls volleyball lineup.

He may have found the right mix.

The Tigers beat Glenbard East 25-20, 25-22 on Thursday in Wheaton for their eighth win in nine matches. At last weekend's Mizuno Cup, WW South (19-9, 8-4 DuPage Valley Conference) beat defending state champions from Wisconsin and Massachusetts, as well as nationally ranked Belleville Althoff for fifth place.

"We're still kind of in flux, still moving people around," Schreier said, "but I like what we're becoming. We are now truly getting there. That's the big thing. Are you getting there and are you improving?"

Amy Drabant, who played primarily outside earlier in the year, has moved over to setter recently and had 27 assists and 5 digs. Jackie Wolfe, previously at setter, played more outside and had 3 kills, 3 blocks and 4 digs. Dayana Rodriguez, at the receiving end of several of Drabant's sets, had 15 kills and 7 digs.

"Everything just seems to be coming together," Rodriguez said. "We're working really hard in practice and the communication is there on the court."

It isn't uncharted waters for Drabant. She played setter in club and her freshman year in high school.

"We've just been doing a lot of repetitions in practice," Drabant said, "and everyone's just got so much better and things have really clicked. There's a lot more confidence between all of us."

WW South closed well in both games. After Mariah Carpio pulled Glenbard East within 21-20 in Game 1 with 2 of her 4 aces, Rodriguez threw down a vicious kill that started a Tigers run to end the game.

WW South trailed 16-12 in the second game but rallied to take a 19-18 lead on a Rodriguez kill. Rodriguez kills accounted for 5 of the Tigers' last 7 points, including match point after Glenbard East had pulled within 24-22.

"We didn't get it done at their place, but I thought tonight we did a much better job of finishing," said Schreier, referring back to a three-game loss at Glenbard East. "That's something we've been talking about is us finishing the game instead of waiting for someone else to do something."

Amanda Peterson had 11 kills and 6 assists, Brittany Cardott 4 blocks and 9 assists and Stephanie Sulzer 7 digs for Glenbard East (15-8, 8-4).

"Give credit to Wheaton. I thought they were ready to go against us tonight," Rams coach Marci Maier said. "We would have liked to play better, but they outplayed us this evening."