St. Francis gets out to quick start, tops Burlington Central

After practicing for three weeks, St. Francis couldn't wait to play its first match of the season.

That wasn't good news for Burlington Central.

The Spartans looked thrilled to have some new faces to spike volleyballs at, defeating the Rockets 25-9, 25-8 in a nonconference match in Wheaton on Wednesday.

"We've been practicing for three weeks and with each practice we've gotten so much better and improved every time," St. Francis junior Daiva Wise said. "So I think we were really ready for this."

"It's been a long time," Spartans coach Peg Kopec added. "Everybody was quite anxious to play. It worked out well."

The Spartans took control from the outset, jumping out to leads of 7-1 and 12-3 in the first game. That trend continued in Game 2 when the took leads of 6-1 and 15-3. The Spartans finished the match with a pair of Wise kills, a Taylor Reckards ace and a Meg Vonderhaar kill.

"They're great," Rockets coach Marv Leavitt said. "They're a really strong team. They do everything well. Every part of the game: offense, defense. They just do it well.

"We haven't played against a team like this. You can't simulate that right now. It's good experience for us, that's all."

"Burlington is a young team this year," Kopec added. "They will be stronger I'm sure next (year)."

St. Francis was strong in every phase of the game.

"It was good," Wise said. "Our serving was good. Our passing was on a dime. Our hitting was really consistent. We put the ball away at the right times and just finished it well."

The 6-foot-2 middle hitter finished with 6 kills and 4 aces.

"I've been working on it all club season," Wise said of her serving. "It's gotten better."

Making her return to high school volleyball after last year's torn ACL, senior setter Kelly Reinke dished out 16 assists and added 5 digs.

"Amazing. I am so proud of her," Wise said of Reinke. "She's done great."

The Rockets fell to 2-1 on the season.