Cary-Grove fights off Jacobs
Cary-Grove seniors Melanie Jereb and Ashley Rosch have already committed to play volleyball at the Division I level.
Junior Mallory Wilczynski may be the next Trojan in line to earn a D-I scholarship.
Wilczynski’s 7 kills, 4 blocks and 2 aces helped lead the Trojans to a hard-fought 27-25, 25-18 victory over upset-minded Jacobs in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division play in Cary Thursday night.
“I just try to get better in practice and try to help the team win,” said Wilczynski. ‘This was a tough match tonight. Jacobs is very scrappy and they mix up their shots well. We just need to get better as a team.”
Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis is impressed with Wilczynski’s development as a player.
“Mallory is really coming into her own and is a real threat in our offense,” said Langanis. “With Melanie and Ashley, Mallory is a nice third option. Mallory and Jess (Bartczyszyn) work well together. She works hard in practice and always wants to improve.”
Cary-Grove (22-4, 6-1) needed to come back in both the first and second games to win the match.
In Game 1, Jacobs led 24-23 after a kill by Alyssa Ehrhardt but the Golden Eagles couldn’t seal the deal.
A kill by Rosch tied the game at 25. Jereb and Wilczynski collected kills as the Trojans rallied to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
“We had 4 straight missed serves,” said Jacobs coach Lisa Dwyer. “Those missed serves were crucial. Losing that first game really hurt.”
In Game 2, Jacobs (18-8, 5-3) led 14-11 after a kill from Ehrhardt before Cary-Grove rallied. The Trojans tied the score at 17 on a kill by Jereb. Cary-Grove seized control of the game, outscoring Jacobs 9-1 to win the game and match. An ace by Nicole Schuh gave the Trojans the victory.
Ehrhardt led the Golden Eagles with 11 kills and 2 aces while Maris Smith contributed 6 kills.
“I am extremely happy with the way we battled,” said Dwyer. “We played with them in both games.”
Jereb led the Trojans with 9 kills while Alex Larsen collected 5 kills.
“Jacobs always plays us tough,” said Langanis. “They play with so much heart and passion. They are a mentally solid team. We don’t intimidate them. I like that we got the key points when we needed them. We need to be more consistent.”