Cook County girls volleyball notes: Dersnah’s return helps Palatine win Antioch invite

Palatine's girls volleyball team enjoyed its biggest weekend of the young season when it swept through the Antioch Invite last Saturday with a 5-0 record to claim the title.

Coach Dan Gavin's girls topped Woodstock North 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 for the championship, and their record stood at 9-5 through Monday.

Playing a key role all season in the Pirates' success has been 5-foot-10 middle blocker Addy Dersnah, who is enjoying a healthy season following a string of injuries (knee/hip) that kept her out most of her sophomore year and all of her junior year.

"Addy has really stepped up," said Pirates coach Dan Gavin. "Her resiliency and ability to maintain a positive attitude is incredible and I think has earned her the trust and respect of a leader."

Dersnah is the Pirates' senior captain.

"She is always able to put the team first, regardless of whether she is on the court or not," Gavcin said. "And it is something that after my 23 years and 45 seasons (boys and girls) of coaching, that combination of leadership and selflessness has been very rare."

Passing the test: Fremd is off to a solid 9-5 start under coach Pete Gavin and defense has been one of the major reasons.

"We currently have 4 girls passing a 2.0 or higher in serve receive that has allowed us to consistently be in system," Gavin said. "We have shifted our lineup multiple times due to injury or early season adjustments and the girls are all positive and working tirelessly to make this a successful season. This group believes in each other and I believe we will continue to improve because of that."

Gavin recently moved Elly Jo Fay to the right side due to an injury and she is hitting at a .415 clip.

Gavin added Greta Thompson, a D-1 basketball recruit, is also rounding into shape and becoming "more and more efficient on the outside."

Banking on Brookbank: Barrington became the first Cook County team to reach 10 wins with the fewest losses (3) by earning a two-set win over Conant.

Senior Addie Brookbank is leading the Fillies with 115 kills and 20 aces through 13 matches.

Growing Grens: Elk Grove coach Tara Braceros is happy with how her team has been competing in some tough matches early in the season.

"We started our conference play losing a close match to Buffalo Grove (25-23, 25-23) and they are more physical than us in most positions on the court," said Braceros, a former Elk Grove standout. "But I thought we did a great job at taking big swings and defending them hard. I'm excited to see how we compete against the rest of the East."

Despite missing four matches, sophomore middle blocker Angelica Dylag leads the team in aces. She is third on the team in kills and tied for second in blocks.

Senior setter Sami Dailey is third on the team in aces and first in blocks

Senior outside hitter Vanessa Witkowski played as a defensive specialist last season.

"But she has come in and done a nice job on the outside this season," Braceros said. "She is our best passer and also second on the team in kills and tied for second in digs."

Junior middle blocker Aubrey McHorney has been solid in her rookie varsity season.

"She is doing a solid job at the net," Braceros said. "She is tied for second in blocks and leads the team in hitting efficiency."

Lucky thirteen: Thirteen was hardly unlucky for Hersey when it defeated Prospect last week.

Sophia Rizzo served 13 straight points in the two-set victory which earned the Huskies a win in their first MId-Suburban East march.

Freya McBride had 4 aces, 6 assists and Victoria Dubowski was the top hitter with 10 kills and hit .476.

"Freya is playing great defense as the libero," said Huskies coach Laura Gerber. "Vicky Vasilopoulos ran the offense very well."

Learning Leyden: Senior middle hitter Nicol Bokuniewicz is leading the Eagles (1-5) in kills (30) while classmate Ulyana Sydorchuk is second. Sophomore setter Leila Herrera is leading the team with 58 assists.

"Sarah Skorna (junior right side) is settling in as a key part of our team and offense, and I'm really excited to see how she develops," Eagles coach Emmett O'Keefe said. "We are still developing our defensive identity and trying to play at a consistent level. We often have one or two people playing well while others struggle. Our hope is to develop into a more consistent team over the next few weeks."

Lions off fast: St. Viator (7-3) has not lost a first set in its 10 matches.

Erin Lynch leads the team 15 aces and 84 kills. Grace Geary is tops in blocks with 19 while Lucy Drake has 82 digs and Isabella Botero 126 assists.

Rookie Abigail Sheldon is leading the team with a .263 hitting percentage.

"We are off to a good start this season," said Lions veteran coach Charlie Curtin, who played boys volleyball at Hersey High School for retired hall of fame coach Nancy Lill.

Hoffman hitter: Peyton Young, an Iowa recruit, is leading Hoffman Estates (7-10) in kills. The senior outside gets her cues from setter Bhavya Muthu.

“She (Muthu) has done a great job running the offense," said Hawks coach Pat Moran.