Prospect keeps pace by edging Elk Grove

After his team nearly let a 19-11 lead over Elk Grove slip away in Game 1, Prospect's girls volleyball coach Mike Riedy had a message afterward.

"I said to the girls this is conference play and we can't afford to do that," Riedy said.

With a commitment to staying in the Mid-Suburban East race, the host Knights kept things together in Game 2 and pulled out a hard-fought 25-23, 25-23 victory over the visiting Grenadiers on Tuesday in the Jean Walker Field House.

The victory improved the Knights to 2-3 and 2-1 in the MSL East, while Elk Grove is 2-7 and 0-3.

"We're getting better with every practice and that's what want to do," said Knights senior middle hitter Sarah Hunt. "We want to keep building up before our next match with Hersey (the East leader which handed the Knights their league loss) and we know we have to keep winning all these conference matches so we can stay in the race."

Hunt helped the Knights stay in the hunt as she finished with a match-high 9 kills on 14-of-15 hitting. Teammate Sam Mangrum connected for 5 kills while Ashley Wabik added a pair of blocks.

"We were in a groove at the start of the first game," added Hunt, who also had 10 digs while Danielle Siwik collected 9. "But they scored a couple of points in a row and they got some momentum. We started slow in Game 2 and didn't play as well as we could but we pulled it out at the end."

Elk Grove led 22-19 in Game 2 but Prospect scored 6 of the final 7 points.

Hunt accounted for half of her team's points in that closing run with 3 kills. The span also included a block by Mariel Sobey and a match-ending kill by Sobey off a set from Wabik.

"To Elk Grove's credit, they stepped up in Game 2," Riedy said. "But we got the job done."

The Knights' setting job was handled by Shea Gallus (13 assists) and Siwik (5 assists). They each also had 2 aces.

Elk Grove setter Jessica Condon was 54-of-54 with 17 assists while the senior also registered 4 kills.

"She's (Condon) really aggressive," Riedy said. "She got a number of dumps that got us out of the system."

Elk Grove coach Stephane Kezios also liked the strong defense from Condon, who made 4 blocks.

"We needed her to step up," Kezios said. "It was a good match for her."

Leah Miller contributed 4 perfect serve receives and led the Grens on attack with 5 kills.

Jessica Balzano (8 digs) and Samantha Hopkins (5) paced the defense while Kristen Cetkovic and Condon each had an ace.

Kezios said her team's biggest problem is inconsistency,"

"We are too hot and cold," she said. "We need to start matches a lot stronger and finish."

Barrington d. Fremd: During the preseason, Barrington coach Chris Bronke said he never went into a season being as unsure about how his team's talent would perform.

Tuesday night, the Fillies performed quite well, handing Fremd only its second loss in 10 matches.

The Fillies (3-9, 2-1) rallied for a 23-25, 26-24, 25-13 victory over the Vikings (8-2, 2-1) as sophomore Payton Lang (8 kills), Madison Lang (4 kills) and Annabel Perry (4 kills) led the attack.

Madison Lang also had 25 assists, 3 blocks, 12 digs and 7 aces.

Julia Thompson (5 blocks), Lauren Shechtman (4) and Payton Lang (4) led in blocking while the defense was paced by Amanda Dee (16 digs) and Meagan Combs (14), who also fired 3 aces.

Hersey d. Buffalo Grove: Kelsey Haas (9 kill) and Christine Solans (8 kills) led the attack for visiting Hersey (8-3, 3-0) in a 25-22, 25-14 victory.

Hukies senior libero Jenni Mueller collected a career-high 20 digs while Danielle Perkins had 9. Setter Abby Fesl collected 21 assists. Teammates Kristen Pedersen and Alexa Stedman each had 4 kills.

BG (2-12, 0-3) was paced on attack by Alanna Zawlocki (9 kills) and Sierra Bugno (4) while Kathy Hampton handed out 17 assists.

Wheeling d. Rolling Meadows: Host Wheeling (8-2, 3-0) was led on attack by Sarah Hennessy (10 kills) and Kellie Kuzmanic (5 kills) in a 25-14, 25-17 victory. Stephanie Fuchs ran the offense with 18 assists while Kayla Jordan had 8 digs and Annette Gorzelany 3 aces.

Veronica Drabrowski and Emily Haeger each had 3 kills for Meadows (2-9, 1-2), which received 9 digs from Amber Beasley.

Schaumburg d. Palatine: Rebecca Thompson and Kelly Koutnik each had 5 kills for host Schaumburg (7-3, 3-0) in a 25-14, 25-19 triumph over Palatine.

Saxons senior Natasha Senecal was 12-of-23 serve receiving and collected 6 digs while Emily Young had 4 kills and 1 ace. Thompson and Bria Hailey each had a pair of aces against the Pirates (6-4, 0-3).

Hoffman Estates d. Conant: With Austin Peay recruit Jada Stotts putting down 8 kills and senior Kelsey Pellus collecting 19 digs, 7 assists and 3 aces, host Hoffman Estates (5-5, 1-2) posted a 25-16, 25-19 victory.

The Hawks' Mel McGinn also had 7 assists along with 3 kills while Tanya Skworch and Becca Stoczynski each added 2 kills.

Allie Bauch and Kelly Anderson each had 3 kills for Conant (3-9, 0-3).

Maine West d. Deerfield: Katie Fitzgerald (12 kills, 5 aces) and Colleen Finnander (8 kills, 4 aces) helped lead host Maine West (2-8, 1-0) to a 25-21, 15-25, 27-25 victory in its CSL North opener.

Alyssa Bojarski added 3 kills for the winners while Caitlin Walsh and Kelly Cerri each added 2.

Benet d. St. Viator: Benet (7-3, 1-0) won the East Suburban Catholic Conference opener 25-18, 25-18 over visiting St. Viator (7-2, 0-1).

Meghan Haggerty (9 kills) and Lara Ontko (8 kills) led the Redwings while setter Kaitlyn King handed out 21 assists.