Girls volleyball: Prospect bounces back by beating Buffalo Grove
After dropping a two-set match to defending Mid-Suburban League East champion Hersey to open its season on Tuesday night, Prospect's girls volleyball team found its groove on Wednesday night at Buffalo Grove.
With senior Ashlyn Gadson putting down 6 kills and senior Jenna Acosta, junior Summer Srodulski and sophomore Julia Wydro each adding 4, the Knights posted a 25-15, 25-15 Mid-Suburban East triumph.
"We were a lot more confident tonight," said Gadson, who took her cues from sophomore setter Lauren Mueller (11 assists) and junior Rachel Keil (9).
"Communication is the key. Once we start doing that, we can work it into other parts of our game."
The Knights (1-1) worked their way back from a 4-0 deficit to start the match, eventually getting the lead for good at 6-5.
Prospect tied it at 5-5 on a block by Srodulski and proceeded on a 6-0 run.
Leading 11-7, the Knights took complete control with an 8-0 run, including 7 straight service points from Acosta.
"Obviously, the Hersey match was our first one of the season and I don't think we were in the right mindset," said Acosta, coming off a basketball season that ended last week. "Tonight, everyone felt a lot more comfortable and we worked better as a team."
During her big service run, Acosta had an ace while Srodulski and Gadson each had 2 kills as Prospect forged ahead 20-9. Wydro's kill ended the set 25-15.
In Set 2, setter Claire Schneider served Buffalo Grove (1-1) to a 3-0 lead before junior Cam Mather (2 kills) put one down to the floor for Prospect's first point.
The Knights later pulled away to a 15-11 advantage on back-to-back kills from Sroduski and Wydro.
The Bison got to within 17-14 on an ace from Abby Ferriss and closed the deficit to 18-15 on a tip from Megan Mitsunaga.
However, Acosta took a set from Keil and put down a big side out kill that ignited a 7-0 run by the Knights to close out the match. Mueller stepped to the service line and reeled off the final 6 straight points, capped by Acosta's kill from the left side that landed deep in the right corner.
"We only had three practices and we had multiple sport athletes so it took us a while to get together," said Knights coach Laura Gerber. "We were just a lot more confident in this match tonight."
Mitsunaga and Shannon Coglianese led the Bison with 4 kills apiece.
"We were struggling to find our energy." said Bison coach Matt Priban, whose team defeated Elk Grove one night earlier. "We had a couple of good runs but Prospect did a nice job to keep us out of system. We know what we have to work on to move forward and we will prepare for Wheeling next Tuesday."