Waubonsie Valley sweeps Geneva
Facing the daunting task of being a fledgling program and heading into the defending conference champion’s house, Geneva knew it would take some lumps Tuesday night in Aurora.
Waubonsie Valley showed Geneva what it’s like to be a strong program as the Warriors thumped the Vikings 25-8, 25-5 in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover match.
The first game started out well for Geneva (0-2), which took a 2-0 lead, but once Waubonsie Valley (7-1) got control of the serve, things turned around quickly and the Warriors never trailed again.
“We came out a little rusty, but we moved the ball around and got the passing going around the net,” senior co-captain Jordan James said. “We worked on our serves a lot in practice, and we got on a roll. We want to get the first serve in, then put a little more on it and get on a roll.”
James paced the Warriors in aces, as he and T.P. Parker each had 10, while returning all-conference setter Luke Furman chipped in with 9.
Another huge advantage for Waubonsie Valley was itssize. The Warriors dominated play at the net and spiked numerous chances over a smaller Geneva team.
“We have six seniors at the net, and they’re all over 6-foot and they’re very talented blockers and can also put the ball down too,” co-captain Furman said. “We’ll definitely be able to hang with tougher teams because of our great servers and all the tall guys up front.”
Waubonsie Valley is primed for a big season, returning every player from last season’s conference championship squad.
“We definitely have more team chemistry this year with everyone returning and people always know where they’re supposed to be and things have gone smoothly,” Furman said.
For Geneva, the tilt against Waubonsie Valley was a good test to see what a strong program looks like.
“I thought we came in tense and froze up a little bit,” Geneva captain Brett Quillen said. “I don’t think we could’ve won, but we could’ve competed better. We’re trying to get better with every match and win a couple games this year and lay a good groundwork for the program.”
Geneva coach KC Johnsen also spoke on trying to make progress each day to help build the program.
“Everything is new to these guys; we have no seniors and no one’s ever played club, but we’re trying to walk a fine line and we’re getting better everyday,” Johnsen said. “It’s good to come out here and see where a top-notch team is, and now we go back to practice and the bar is set a little higher. We need to stay positive and not get too frustrated.”