Girls volleyball notes: Young makes history for Hoffman Estates
When 5-foot-11 middle hitter Peyton Young makes her first appearance in an Iowa uniform next fall, she will become the first player from the Hoffman Estates girls volleyball program to compete in the Big Ten.
“Getting the chance to earn the opportunity to play D1 volleyball is something that I’ve always wanted to do and it shows that all hard work and sacrifice is worth it," said Young, who will be the first player from Hoffman to compete at the D1 level since 2011. "I’m looking forward to getting on campus and competing at the high level."
Young plans to study business in Iowa City.
"What makes Peyton so special is her competitiveness, work ethic and athleticism," said Hawks coach Pat Moran. "She has worked so hard these past four years to develop into the player that she is now. She is also a huge part of what we accomplished last season, and where we are as a program. We are very proud of her and we are so excited to watch and support her these next few years at Iowa."
Fremd rolling: With its 25-19, 28-26 victory over Barrington last Thursday, Fremd took over first place in the Mid-Suburban West.
"We are having a solid year so far," said Vikings coach Pete Gavin, whose team is 13-5 and 5-0 in the West, one match ahead of Barrington (4-1). "We are well balanced and have six girls with 55 kills or more. As a team we are passing a 2.1 in serve receive which has allowed us to consistently be in system offensively."
Big win for South: Maine South (13-6 to start the week) earned its biggest win of the season when it topped Loyola 25-14, 25-22 last week in Park Ridge.
"I'm not sure when the last time we beat them was but it's definitely been a long time," said first-year coach Jonathan Wieland. "We have used a ton of different lineups throughout the season trying to figure out our optimal lineup and everyone has stepped up in their roles as we have been able to win some big games."
Senior captains Ana Petrides and senior outside hitter Sofia Rossi have led the way hitting .410 and .345, respectively.
Rossi could reach 1,000 career kills this season while junior setter Teagan Heneghan is nearing 500 career assists.
Meadows rolling: Rolling Meadows stands at 18-4, just 4 wins shy of their 22 wins last fall. One of the players responsible for the fast start, Lucy Pufundt, is closing in on her 1,000th kill.
In his two years in charge of the program, coach Jack Nickle is off to a 40-19 start and has his Mustangs currently leading the MId-Suburban East with a 5-0 record.
The Mustangs host a big match on Wednesday when they face Maine South.
Rebuilding Maine East: Maine East kicked off its season with three new coaches as part of a program rebuild. With eight seniors graduating last year, the team is young but also supported by some experienced seniors. Currently standing at 7-9, the team recently celebrated a victory at the Highland Park Invitational last week.
Despite the early setback of losing starting outside hitter Monica Hadzhieva to injury, junior outside hitter Siobhan Kelly has stepped up to lead the offense. Junior libero Saphia Worden has anchored the defense with confidence. As the season progresses, Leiana Henao-Trauth and Emma Asien have also begun to make key offensive contributions.
"Although we've faced challenges with injuries and lineup changes, we continue to fight through each match, taking it one day at a time," said Blue Demons coach Rintu Philip.
Good stretch for Leyden: The Eagles are 6-9 but they've won five of their last eight matches.
"It took us a few weeks to develop our defensive identity and figure out lineups that worked effectively, but now we've settled into a rhythm," said Leyden coach Emmett O'Keefe.
Nicol Bokuniewicz, a senior middle hitter, is leading the team in blocks and kills. Ulyana Sydorchuk, a senior outside hitter, is second on the team in blocks and kills.
"Over these last few weeks we've also gotten key contributions from our two setters Aleks Manojlovic (junior) and Leila Herrera (sophomore) as well as Sarah Skorna, a junior right side," O'Keefe said.
New lineup for Grens: After an injury to senior setter Sami Dailey, Elk Grove junior Olivia Eugene has stepped up to run the Elk Grove offense.
Sophomore Angelica Dylag had been playing in the middle but has now moved to the outside.
"We are still getting used to running a new lineup," said Grens coach Tara Braceros. "But we have been getting more and more comfortable every day and are working hard to continue to compete in our conference."
Hersey leaders: Junior Macey Teuscher (8 kills), senior Victoria Dubowski (6) and junior Ana Spillson (4) led the Hersey attack in a tough three-set loss to Buffalo Grove, which won 25-23, 19-25, 25-23.
"We had a great battle against BG but came up short," said Huskies coach Laura Gerber. "We served very well and played great defense. BG had a tough middle attack that we couldn't stop in the third set."
Ania Bixby (13 assists) and Vicky Vasilopoulos (12) set the offense. Rizzo also collected 17 digs.
Bison start fast in MSL: Buffalo Grove went 4-1 in the first round of MSL East play.
"Our middles are doing a great job," said BG coach Matt Priban.
Cami Damm (0.322 hitting efficiency, 90 kills, 32 blocks, 27 aces) and Adeline Sirbu (0.459 hitting efficiency, 77 kills, 33 blocks) key the Bison at the net while libero Alecsia Baciu has 268 digs so far.
"She is doing a very nice job defensively," Priban added. "We've been battling some injuries, but hope to stay healthy moving forward. We've been playing with so many different lineups, and each player has stepped up when needed."
Francl nets 8 kills: St. Viator right side hitter Mary Francl put down 8 kills and 3 blocks when the Lions (11-5) dropped a two-set match to Mid-Suburban East leader Rolling Meadows.
Middle hitters Grace Geary (3 kills, 3 blocks) and Sydney Mittel (2 kills, 2 blocks) helped lead the way in a two-set loss to state-ranked Marist.
"We've been playing top state-ranked teams in our conference the last two weeks," said Lions coach Charlie Curtin.