Girls volleyball: McCall, St. Charles North clinch share of DuKane Conference title
The barrage of successful one-timers slamming down on the court from either Haley Burgdorf or Alex Bardouniotis tells plenty of the story on how successful St. Charles North's attack can be on a given night.
What might go slightly unnoticed, however, is the setting and passing from sophomore setter Mia McCall that makes it all happen in the seconds beforehand.
"[McCall's] got volleyball running through her veins," North Stars coach Lindsey Hawkins said following SCN's 25-21, 25-22 sweep over Geneva on Tuesday to clinch at least a share of the DuKane Conference title. "That family is a volleyball family. She's been watching since she was a little girl. She's got a high IQ for the game."
Burgdorf dominated with 13 kills - complimented by 10 from Bardouniotis - to power the North Stars (22-13, 6-1). Right there at the center of it was McCall, who averages nearly five assists per set. Entering Tuesday, McCall had 362 assists on the season.
"Volleyball is really important to me, so I'm always playing volleyball," McCall said. "I feel like I work really hard outside of practice to be ready to play ... I think it's really important how much they [Burgdorf and Bardouniotis] talk. Sometimes, I'll forget what we're running and I always know that they'll call it. They're always there."
"She knows where and when to dish and that's kind of nice to see, too, because she's very smart with the ball," Hawkins continued. "And gets our hitters in lots of one-on-one situations."
Burgdorf, who has excelled as an elite scoring option in her two-year varsity career, evidently has a fantastic rapport with McCall to get her in the spots to do what she does best.
"I love Mia. Mia just gives amazing sets," Burgdorf said. "I'll ask her something, and she'll just put it in that spot. That's what is really great about her: She'll take criticism really easy, and I love her because she knows the game. She just knows the game."
One small moment from the first set is an example to point to: Tied at 21 after a few back-and-forth sequences, McCall was seemingly poised to send over a set to the far left side toward Burgdorf; the Geneva front line followed suit.
Instead, she flipped it to her right with a short set that allowed Kyra Treanor to slam it down for the kill. From there, the North Stars coaxed a Vikings attack error and two Burgdorf kills wrapped it up 25-21.
"She's really smart. Especially when it comes to ... she knows what blockers are up and what hitters are hitting. That's where it all comes down to and then she really starts clicking into the game," Burgdorf continued.
In set two, the Vikings and North Stars traded a variety of leads, eventually landing on 18-18. SCN ripped off a 3-0 run on Treanor and Burgdorf kills and an attack error. Vikings junior outside hitter Lillian Hallahan stopped the bleeding with a kill, but Burgdorf, again, answered.
A SCN service error and a kill from Sam Vanda pulled Geneva within 22-21, but a kill from McCall and Burgdorf's ace put them at match point. The Vikings nabbed one more point after an attack error, but Bardouniotis' kill finished them off.
"[SCN] missed, I want to say, over 14 serves and we missed at least eight. I feel like that contributed. Then, we could just never get a rhythm," Geneva coach Lauren Kosecki said. "We couldn't get a rhythm tonight. [Our] energy was a little bit flat. We struggled coming in tonight and unfortunately; we had a really good weekend this past weekend. It's just how we did. But, SCN is a good team. They've got a few good outsides that can put the ball away and they're well-coached and all that good stuff."
The Vikings (23-12, 5-2) were led by four kills and an ace from Charlotte Potvin. Hallahan and Sam Vanda had a few kills apiece.
They now turn their attention to facing Wheaton North in the Addison Trail Regional on Oct. 24. Effectively, their slate is now wiped clean with the postseason ahead.
"We've got four or five practices here to start fresh," Kosecki continued. "And, it's time to go."