West Chicago removes all doubt
It's time for the doubters to admit it, West Chicago is pretty darn good in girls volleyball this season.
The Wildcats went to Wheaton Warrenville South Tuesday night and pulled out a sweep, winning the opener handily 25-16 and then outlasting the hosts in a wild, back-and-forth 29-27 affair in Game 2 to stay unbeaten in five DuPage Valley Conference matches.
"It feels good to get back at them," said Wildcats sophomore outside hitter Julia Conard, who dropped in the game-winner in the second game as the visitors erased a 26-25 deficit to complete the sweep. "It's been some time (since we beat them). It's exciting, and I'm on a high right now."
The Tigers (8-8, 2-3) were without the services of setter Amy Drabant (out sick), but after a shaky opener they had plenty of chances to send the match to three games. Some sloppy serve receive by the Wildcats (13-3) allowed WW South to take a 7-2 lead. From there the game was tied 13 times, and WW South had leads of 19-16, 23-22, 25-24 and 26-25.
But West Chicago, which has played in its share of tight matches this fall, came up with big play after by play down the stretch. Coach Kris Hasty thinks her team was motivated to try and avoid a do-or-die third game against the Tigers, who beat West Chicago at the Willowbrook tourney early in the season.
"I can't even remember," Hasty said when asked to recall the Wildcats' last win over WW South. "This is a great boost for us. It was a good match back and forth, and I think they knew if it went to a Game 3 that it would be quite a match. But we got them in two, which is cool."
Kathy Fletcher had 9 kills and 7 digs for West Chicago, second only to Conard, who notched 12 kills and 8 digs. The junior middle hitter - who broke a 26-all tie with a powerful spike to the back corner - was glad to experience a win against WW South for a change.
"This is one of the teams that usually give us problems," Fletcher said. "It feels good to come out with a win here."
Fletcher's also thinking the victory will help spread the word that this is not your typical Wildcats squad.
"Some people think it's a fluke that we've been winning. This helps prove we're on top this year," she said.
Monika Stanciauskas and Stephanie Budlong each had 5 kills to pace the Tigers, while Brittany Valdez filled in for Drabant and had 12 assists.
"They played well and they played with energy and focus," Tigers coach Bill Schreier said of West Chicago. "I thought we could have pushed harder at various times. But I thought it was nice to see some people in other positions and we saw some positives.