Geneva tops Burlington Central for third place

Playing a team for the second time in the same day has its challenges.

Beating that team for the second time in the same day also has its rewards.

After putting together a late spurt to take the opening game, Geneva's volleyball team pulled away in Game 2 on the way to its 25-21, 25-15 victory over Burlington Central (3-5) in the third-place match of the Vikings' annual invitational Saturday.

Five hours earlier, the Vikings (8-2) had handed the Rockets a 25-16, 25-20 defeat in pool play.

"I didn't mind it as much," Geneva senior setter Brooke Morphis said of facing Burlington Central a second time Saturday. "Some of the other girls were a little nervous about it but I felt it was a good opportunity to play them again."

In the third-place match, Game 1 featured 15 ties and 9 lead changes as the two teams couldn't shake one another until the Vikings scored the final 3 points, capped by Morphis' block-kill.

"It was point for point for quite a while," said Vikings coach KC Johnsen. "We're very similar teams. Neither one of us is overly tall or overpowering this year but we both play pretty solid defense and smart volleyball."

In Game 2, the Vikings received a pair of kills apiece from Riley Sullivan and Melissa Hanika while enjoying leads of 10-3, 19-8 and 22-10.

"We all had the jitters in the first game for some reason," said Morphis, who led the team with 61 assists in 5 matches. "We were all really amped up but we came out harder in the second game."

The Vikings' only blemish of the day came during their straight-game loss to 2-time defending Class 3A state champion Joliet Catholic. Earlier in the day, Geneva earned 2-game victories over Fenton and IMSA.

"It was a very good day," Johnsen said of his team's 4-1 finish. "We got beat by Joliet Catholic but it's good to play a team like that this early in the year because we can learn from it."

"I think we're a good team, too, but they were just better," Morphis said of the Angels. "We played our hardest but they were stronger."

The only thing that kept the Vikings from reaching the finals was the fact that DeKalb took Joliet Catholic to 3 games during their pool-play match.

"I believe the coaches get what they're looking for out of this tournament," said Johnsen. "We're off to a decent start, especially with a lot of new players."

Burlington Central, which defeated Morris before dropping 4 consecutive decisions to DeKalb, Joliet Catholic and Geneva (twice), received 5-kill efforts from Brenda Thasavong and Sydney Sand in the third-place match.

"We're working hard and we're getting better," said Rockets coach Marv Leavitt. "We realize where our problems are. We've been hitting the ball out too much.

"But we're a 3A school so it's great to play Geneva twice along with Joliet Catholic and DeKalb. Those are some of the best teams in the state. It's great competition for us."