Batavia starts fast, downs Geneva
Batavia showed Geneva in Game 1 Tuesday night that it knows how to build a big lead. The Bulldogs proved in Games 2 and 3 that they know how to keep one.
The reason for the third game in Batavia's 22-25, 25-12, 25-19 victory was the Bulldogs couldn't hold on an 8-1 lead in the first game.
Batavia (23-3, 4-0) learned from that mistake, jumping to 10-2 and 7-0 leads in games 2 and 3, respectively, on their way to a win that should seal an Upstate Eight Conference River Division championship. Batavia's only two remaining conference games are against Larkin and Elgin, teams at the bottom of the standings.
Oh, there was one more reason the match went three it's just what typically happens when these rivals meet.
“We weren't going to disappoint you were we? smiled Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne who welcomed back alumni from the 1990, 1995 and 2000 teams including current Western Illinois University coach Kym McKay.
“We had to have a 3-gamer. Give Geneva a lot of credit, they came out prepared for us. They did a really nice job offensively against us.
Trippi-Payne credited the Bulldogs' tough schedule for preparing them for a comeback like Tuesday's. She said the St. Viator team Batavia just defeated Saturday to win the IMSA Classic is very similar to Geneva.
“I'm so happy we played (St. Charles) North and (St. Charles) East first and prepared us for hard matches, Batavia senior Caitlin Piechota agreed. “I think it has really helped us.
Geneva (15-6, 1-3) went on a 16-3 run in the first game to turn that 8-1 deficit into a 17-11 lead. The Vikings capitalized on 5 Batavia hitting errors, 3 service errors and 3 net violations. One of those service errors came on game point.
“It looked like we were nervous, we were kind of shaky, Piechota said. “They gave us a run for our money. They came out and showed us they are a really, really good team.
Riley Sullivan led Geneva with 4 kills in Game 1. The Bulldogs adjusted to start Game 2, moving their defenders in the read position to get a better look at Geneva's outsides while also adjusting their personnel to better block the Vikings.
The moves worked as the Bulldogs quickly grabbed a 5-1 lead in Game 2 on Mary Kate Bryant's tip kill and never trailed again in the match.
“Whatever it was I obviously didn't figure it out, Geneva coach KC Johnsen said of his team's three early deficits in each game.
“We just started slow and Batavia blocked really well and we hung our heads a little bit and got frustrated. Batavia had a lot to do with us struggling so much.
Just as Batavia's defense picked up at the net so did the Bulldogs' battling in the back row. Piechota (14) and juniors Stephanie Kinane (12) and Bryant (11) all reached double figures in digs. On one point early in Game 2, Kristen Koncelik dove into the crowd to keep a ball alive that Mary Nilles got over the net on a point the Bulldogs eventually won when Geneva hit long.
Nilles also hustled for her share of sprawling saves of what looked like sure Geneva points.
“They had some amazing touches, Johnsen said. “Balls I thought we were going to get a point came back.
Johnsen adjusted his rotation and used his two timeouts early in Game 3 trying to halt Batavia's early surges. Johnsen called time down 5-0 and 7-0 but Batavia kept pulling further ahead, taking its biggest leads at 20-11 and 23-14.
Geneva made one last rally with 5 straight points, the final one on a heads-up cross-court hit to an open area by Brooke Binette. After Trippi-Payne's timeout, a Geneva net violation and Bryant's kill ended the match.
Bryant finished with a triple-double of sorts, 11 digs, 10 kills and 13 assists. Nilles led with 18 assists, Koncelik added 3 blocks and 8 kills while Piechota dominated hitting the ball with 16 kills and 4 aces.
“We were like, ‘Play our game, settle down, we know how we can play,' Piechota said about the Bulldogs' reaction to the Game 1 loss. “We came out and I was really, really happy with how we played.
Batavia wasn't the only team playing good defense. Geneva libero Ashley Shain broke Elyse Jacob's school record with 27 digs. Holly Stimac added 16 digs while Sullivan (11 kills), Binette (5 kills) and Melissa Hanika (4 kills) led the Vikings' attack.