Geneva wins battle of WSC unbeatens
Pick two schools, pick a sport - any sport - and you would hard pressed to find a rivalry in the Western Sun Conference that's been any better than Geneva and Sycamore in girls volleyball.
Like every other sport this year, that matchup is coming to an end with the 2009-10 school year. But few have had the competitiveness and played for big stakes year in and year out like the Vikings and Spartans on the volleyball court.
In every year of the Western Sun, either Sycamore or Geneva - or both - have ended the year on top of the conference standings. And when they squared off for the first time this year Thursday night in Sycamore, both were up at the top again at 3-0.
Unlike many of the classics the past four years, this one didn't go three games, though Geneva certainly will take its 25-11, 25-21 victory.
Vikings coach KC Johnsen coached his first match at Sycamore. Like most of the meetings between the two, it went three games.
"It's an exciting gym to come into," Johnsen said. "They have a great program here. I'm sure we'll find those kind of rivalries in the Upstate Eight too. We're pretty close to St. Charles East and North.
"We have always had a lot of respect for the Sycamore program. We've had some of the more exciting matches in the (four) years of the Western Sun and there's going to be at least one more this year."
Senior Lauren Wicinski led Geneva Thursday with 10 kills, eight in Game 2. A four-year varsity player, Wicinski has been part of some thrillers with the Spartans.
"You always have to come in here and expect the best," Wicinski said. "We've had bad times here and we've had good times here."
There were certainly more good than bad Thursday. Kelsey Augustine added 7 kills, Alexa Sommer 3 and Katie Sommer 2, with Brooke Morphis setting 19 assists.
Geneva (9-1, 4-0) moved a game ahead of Sycamore (8-2, 3-1).
"I liked the 21-25, we can live with that, that will help us build," Sycamore coach Debbie said. "They (Geneva) hit a little harder than they did on film."
Geneva capitalized on a variety of Spartan errors in Game 1. The Vikings took a 13-7 lead with three points coming on service errors, three on net violations and two more on serve-receive breakdowns.
"We beat ourselves," Klock said. "Our points were earned and we gave them a lot of their points. You can't win when you do that."
The Spartans had seven kills in Game 1 to 9 for Geneva, nearly a wash, but all the mistakes spelled the lopsided 25-11 defeat. Katie Sommer ended it with a kill.
The Vikings made a few of their own miscues in Game 2 that helped Sycamore cut an 18-10 Geneva lead to two points on five occasions, the final time at 23-21. Morphis picked a great time for her first kill giving Geneva a 24-21 lead, then Wicinski's ace ended the match.
"We definitely let down a little and got too comfortable," Wicinski said of Game 2. "You can't do that. Then we realized we had to pick it up, they are getting close."
Wicinski also led the Vikings with 13 digs. Grace Burns added 8, while Augustine had 2 of Geneva's 5 blocks.
The teams meet for the final time Oct. 13 in Geneva. The Vikings aren't the only ones sad to see the matchup come to an end.
"It's been a great rivalry," Klock said. "I'm dying inside that we lose those three (Geneva, Batavia and Glenbard South). To me as a program I'd rather get beat up like that any day of the week and know where you are going into the postseason than win easy games."