Girls Volleyball

St. Francis shows its versatility vs. St. Edward

Posted October 14, 2009 11:00 pm

By Matt Stacionis Daily Herald Correspondent

St. Edward's Ana Peterson bumps a St. Francis serve from the back row Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

St. Francis has a lot of power on its girls volleyball team.

But what makes the Spartans great is the amount of diversity in their offensive arsenal. St. Francis displayed said offense as it defeated St. Edward 25-14, 25-17 in Suburban Catholic Conference action in Elgin Wednesday.

"We got blocked a couple of times in the first game and we realized we had to switch things up," said Spartans' outside hitter Meg Vonderhaar, who finished with 9 kills. "We had a lot of serving errors in the first game."

The Spartans responded by jumping out to an 8-1 lead in Game 2, by tipping the ball instead of slamming kills. The Spartans (25-2, 9-0) were able to score 6 points in the second game off tips. Setter Kristen Kelsay (21 assists, 7 digs) put St. Edward (8-22, 0-7) down 23-17 when she tipped a ball into an opening in the Green Wave defense. Sarah Dubiel had earlier put St. Francis up 22-16 with a similar tip.

Even powerhouse hitter Kelsey Robinson, who led all players with 11 kills, notched a tip after St. Edward had brought the game back within 14-12. The Green Wave was unable to close the gap beyond that point.

"They just tried different things," St. Edward coach Jaime Dovichi said. "They showed they don't have to hit. They found the hole. You fight for every point and by the time you get caught up, their hitters have switched up."

St. Edward's fight did lead the Green Wave to an 11-6 run to bring the game back to 14-12 on a pair of service points from Katie Ayello (8 digs). But the energy that St. Edward had spent to bring the game back quickly showed as Robinson recorded 3 kills in extending the lead to 19-13.

"St. Edward played well, they played defense pretty well," St. Francis' coach Peg Kopec said. "We had to use a full repertoire of shots. We knew pounding it in every time wasn't going to work."

Vonderhaar was one of the players who had things working well for the Spartans. The junior hit with a team-leading 60 percent kill ratio. She also added 2 of the final 3 points for the Spartans in Game 1.

St. Francis broke a 6-6 tie with a 10-3 run, going up 16-9. Vonderhaar added 3 kills during that run, with Gab Zito notching back-to-back kills putting St. Francis up 12-7. Dalva Wise added 8 service points in the victory.

Stephanie Igielski finished with 3 kills for St. Edward, which also got 8 digs and 2 blocks from Margie Haggenjos.

St. Edward's Callie Johnson tries to block a St. Francis shot Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

St. Edward's Christina Stojanovic, left, and Stephanie Igielski watch their block drop back into the St. Francis side of the net Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

St. Edward's Margie Haggenjos digs a St. Francis hit Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

St. Edward's Christina Stojanovic grimaces as a St. Francis hit skims past her fingers Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

St. Edward's Stephanie Igielski blocks a shot by St. Francis' Lauren Duncan Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

St. Edward's Holly Knott, Ana Peterson, Margie Haggenjos and Christina Stojanovic, left to right, huddle between points against St. Francis Wednesday in Elgin. John Starks | Staff Photographer

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