Girls volleyball: St. Charles East battles past Geneva
St. Charles East got back in rhythm just in time Tuesday night.
After the Saints played a strong opening set, Geneva seized momentum in the second half. The Vikings started strong and wouldn't let the Saints back in it. But the Saints regained the upper hand quickly and pulled away to a 25-22, 19-25, 25-14 win in Upstate Eight River girls volleyball action in Geneva.
Kyra Slavik blasted 10 kills, and Klaudia Sowizral added 9 for the Saints (18-4, 4-1).
The third set was tied at 9, 10, and 11 before a kill by Allie Will put the Saints in front to stay. That started a run of 3 straight points for the Saints. Later, the Saints pulled away with a 5-0 spurt. Charlie Ambrose was at the service line for the last 4.
After Geneva stopped the run, the Saints rattled off the last 5 points to end it. Will's service ace and a sneaky dink by Mckenna Slavik aided the run.
The Vikings took control of set 2 with a 5-point run early on and never looked back. Molly Lambillotte and Danielle Thompson repeatedly made big plays up front. Geneva took advantage of St. Charles East's mistakes, especially missed serves, and never gave the Saints an opening to get back in it.
"We came off of a really good weekend, and that's a good lesson for us," said St. Charles East coach Jennie Kull. "I think we kind of let down a little bit and Geneva took advantage of it. The good news is they came back strong in the third.
"They were back into their groove. They were back into their teamwork. They were hitting the shots, they were hitting them where they were supposed to, and I think that was what made it better: just taking care of business."
Mckenna Slavik had 21 assists, 9 digs, and 4 kills for St. Charles East. Hannah Spicer dug up 6 and added 2 kills.
Thompson finished with 12 kills overall while Lambillotte contributed 10 for Geneva (11-11, 3-2). Anna Loberg had 13 assists, Piper Drazek had 10. Payton Bellano led the defense with 15 digs.
"Just a couple of errors down the stretch, and you could just feel the momentum slipping away a little bit," said Geneva coach Annie Seitelman. "Our kids just struggled to get those sideouts, and we allowed them to go on a run, and that was the difference.