Girls volleyball: St. Charles East celebrates 10-year anniversary of '08 state champs
It's cliché and it's true - time flies. Has it really been 10 years since Jennie Kull's St. Charles East volleyball team upset Benet to win the 2008 state championship?
It has. The Saints won that night in Normal 23-25, 25-22, 25-19 to beat a Benet team that entered the match 40-1 and went on to win the 2012, 2013 and 2015 state championships.
St. Charles East went 38-4 to win the 2008 state title, and last Friday Kull welcomed back the players from that team for a 10-year reunion celebration before its match with South Elgin.
Caroline Niski had 16 kills in the championship match win over Benet. Jacqui Seidel had 8 and Meghan Niski 5, Laura Homann set 28 assists and served 2 aces, and Olivia Desormey had 2 blocks. It was a scrappy Saints team that played great defense.
Harvest Christian coach Mike Bui was an assistant coach on the 2008 Saints.
"I remember it like it was yesterday," Bui said. "I recall watching tape that Friday night from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Just to get an idea what we were facing in the state final.
"We were able to predict what they were running in every rotation. Kudos to our kids to be able to stay calm the match. To this day, biggest upset I've been apart of in 17 years of coaching volleyball."
Last Friday, players plus former coaches, trainers and parents returned and were introduced before the South Elgin game with a brief summary of what they have been doing since high school.
They watched the Saints beat South Elgin and then met at the Spotted Fox to watch the DVD of the state championship match on the big screen.
"The players told us it was the first time they watched the match," said Maureen Niski, the mother of Caroline and Meghan Niski. "Very exciting and not as nerve-racking when you know the outcome."
Halfway home: Huntley completed the first half of Fox Valley Conference play at 6-2 with losses to Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge.
The Red Raiders get a second chance at both, and coach Karen Naymola said cleaning up play on their side of the net is the key to reversing those losses.
"We've been trying to minimize errors," Naymola said. "We've been up in each game, we missed four serves in a row. And we have to find a way for everyone to contribute offensively."
Huntley has played less games than every other area team. The Red Raiders enter their first tournament next weekend at the Asics Challenge.
"Not having a ton of games allows us to keep improving and preparing," Naymola said.
Naymola has a luxury as a coach this year with seven seniors and an experienced junior class.
"They are such a close team and that takes you a lot further than relying on individual skills," Naymola said. "Julia (Johnson), we know she can put a ball straight down, but now she tips and rolls and mixes up her shots and she's a hard player to keep up with. Loren (Alberts) and Marissa (Deem) are stepping up."
"It's fun playing with everyone together because it's our last year," said one of those seniors, Alberts. "We love each other. We just support each other like crazy."
Junior setter Taylor Jakubowski leads the juniors, and she impressed Hampshire coach Ramon Borrero in the Red Raiders' win over the Whip-Purs last week.
"Taylor is the engine of that team and every time something goes wrong she has the capacity to go fix it," Borrero said.
Little Village Invite: Streamwood traveled to Lawndale High School in Chicago on Saturday and went 2-0-2, beating Kenwood and Rich East and splitting matches against Westinghouse and Lincoln Park.
Kaylee Angle (12 kills), Mariely Sotelo (11 kills), Leslie Garcia (9 kills), Corinne Angle (29 digs) and Mary Rackow 36 (assists) led the Sabres (4-15-2).
"Another good weekend for us," Streamwood coach Sheryl Hettinger said. "We played tough and with energy throughout the whole tournament."
Moving again: When West Aurora moves from the Upstate Eight to the Southwest Prairie next fall, it will be the third conference Kevin Mortlock has coached the Blackhawks in.
"When I started it was the DuPage Valley and then Upstate Eight," Mortlock said. "We take the cards where they lie. Wherever they tell me we're going to play we'll try to get the girls ready."
Good training: Junior Kyla Lannert has made a quick transition to varsity volleyball this fall at St. Charles North. She's given the North Stars another option offensively in addition to Katie Lanz and Gigi Crescenzo while also thriving as a setter.
Lannert credited her experiences on the underclass team as a freshman and sophomore with preparing her for her new role.
"Being on JV for two years was a really good opportunity because it gave me the chance to run the court and learn how to be a good leader," Lannert said. "I think that prepared me well to be on varsity. And I have the best teammates ever. They make it really easy."