Girls volleyball notes: Scott emerges as force at Hoffman; Neill powers Fremd to solid start
When Lilah Scott began her volleyball career on the freshman B team at Hoffman Estates, it turned out to be the motivating factor that has led the senior to being the top attacker for the Hawks in her senior season.
"Starting on the freshman B really made me realize my love for the sport and I wanted to be good at it," Scott said. "I would say the quote that really stuck with me was 'prove them wrong."
That's actually what she has done, leading the Hawks with 46 kills through the team's first 11 matches.
"Lilah has worked so hard to become the player and person that she is," said Hawks coach Pat Moran.
That work ethic came from her determination to play the game despite seeing limited playing time at times in club volleyball.
"In my second year of club volleyball, I made the second-lowest team and that whole club season changed my experience for volleyball," she said. "I understood the game more. It got easier for me. In my junior year, I really wanted to make varsity in high school knowing that a lot of the really good players graduated. I knew I had a chance."
Scott ended up making the varsity as a starting outside hitter.
"I was really happy about that even though I wished I could have gotten there as a sophomore," she said.
"Lilah is well-respected by her teammates and she is one of our captains," Moran added. "Lilah treats everyone with respect and she leads by example. It has been a privilege to coach her."
For now, Scott is thoroughly enjoying her final year of high school volleyball.
"With this year being my second year on varsity, I feel like this team is so much better from last year in terms of team chemistry," she said. "Each day I’m always excited to play volleyball with them because we can almost always tell each other negatives and positives and the outcome is always believing in each other. I want my teammates to feel confident about themselves.“
Barrington: The defending Mid-Suburban League champion Fillies began MSL East play by winning their first three games heading into Tuesday's match at Hersey.
During the 3-0 stretch, Barrington was led by Kalyn Brookbank with 43 kills, Eve Adler with 73 assists and Toni Rojas with 26 digs.
Under coach Michelle Mayer, Barrington has won five of the last seven MSL crowns.
Fremd: After a 15-3 start a year ago, coach Pete Gavin has the Vikings off to another solid start with a 9-5 record.
The Vikings dropped an exciting three-set Mid-Suburban League East match to Hersey in their last match.
"Our side (MSL East) is tough," Gavin said. "We knew that and my message to the girls has been whether you win the conference or not, our goal is to try and get better each match. Hopefully we learned (from the Hersey match)."
Loyola pledge Harper Neill walloped 21 kills against Hersey.
"Harper is amazing," Gavin said. "And I've told her as much as I love seeing her get the ball, we have to build up other people, too, and have to stay balanced."
Getting the ball to the Vikings' hitters is the talented Madison Drenth, who collected 26 assists vs. Hersey.
Hersey: The Huskies got off to a terrific start under fifth-year coach Laura Gerber, winning 15 of their first 18 matches.
One key is the defensive play of Miami of Ohio pledge and libero Freya McBride, who wears the same No. 20 that her father Brian wore as a standout soccer player for Buffalo Grove.
As a co-captain for the second straight season, McBride is surrounded by a lot of young talent, including two freshmen and a sophomore.
"Honestly it is so fun to see them improve from the summer to now," McBride added. "They have made a huge impact and we wouldn't be the same team without them."
McBride is a co-captain with senior Mahi Vullakula.
"Last year it was exciting to be a captain (with Macey Teuscher)," said McBride. "And being able to be a leader for our team this season is a big thing."
McBride, who also played club soccer in the fall of her freshman year, meant a lot to the Huskies' win over Fremd with some terrific digs, including a diving stab near the out of bounds line.
"She is so good, she can take over the defense so well," Gerber said.
Gerber also praised Fremd.
"Their defense was amazing," she said. "Nothing was touching the floor."
St. Viator: The Lions opened their Girls Catholic Athletic Conference schedule with a big win over Fenwick in two sets followed by a victory against Addison Trail.
"We played tight matches at the Wheaton Academy tournament against excellent competition," said St. Viator coach Charlie Curtin. "The girls look to right the ship with hard work, and focusing on the things we can control."
Olive Meyers continues to shine on the service line with 22 aces and a team-leading 101 digs.
"Katherine Courtney has emerged as a consistent six-rotation player, offensively and defensively," Curtin added. "And someone her teammates can count on.
Elk Grove: The Grenadiers are 3-5 but first-year coach Celina Wlodarski says they have worked hard to win their first two matches in the MSL West. Elk Grove defeated Conant in two sets and took a three-set decision from Wheeling after dropping the first set.
The Grens were in multiple two to three-point deficits in each set against Wheeling.
Their most notable comeback of the season came in the second set when they trailed 24-21. After a sideout made it 24-22, junior Ellie Kowalik closed out the set with three straight points.
The Grens received a big double block from sophomore Natalia Zajac and junior Makayla Medina to tie the game at 24-24 A kill by senior Angelica Dylag made it 25-24 before Kowalik's set-ending ace made it 26-24.
In set three, it was a dump by Medina that secured the win.
"Ellie Kowalik and Kalina Gudas (juniors) stepped up into their roles as libero and defensive specialist during our Wheeling game and their grit and reliability on defense helped us secure the match," Wlodarski said. "Nadia Baranowski (sophomore) spent the game covering all parts of the endline which allowed our long rallies and our relentless spirit to really power through."
Conant: Conant began the week at 6-10 overall and 1-2 in MSL West play.
"The team has been working really hard and has been playing better volleyball of late," said Cougars coach Brian Donlan.
Conant finished fourth in the Leyden tournament last weekend and split its conference matches against Rolling Meadows (loss) and Schaumburg (win).
The team is being led offensively by senior Feyza Erturk (51 kills) and sophomore Maya Mikolajczyk (49 kills).
On the defensive side, sophomore Nika Putro and senior Emily Russo are leading the team in blocks. Erturk leads in digs.
Buffalo Grove: The Bison began the week at 5-11 and 0-3 in the MSL East with matches against Barrington, Fremd and Palatine. In their most recent tournament, the Hawks’ own invite, they finished fourth out of 12 teams.
Senior libero Ava Lo Verde recently hit 500 career digs. Junior Olivia Hill, traditionally a right-side hitter, has been playing outside and has been leading the Bison offensively with 146 kills.
Senior middle blocker Sofi Dahl has also been stepping up in different ways. She leads in aces (17), blocks (25) and is second in kills (87).
Leyden: Sophomore outside Mallory Richmond had three kills for Leyden (1-13, 0-3 WSC Gold) in its two-set loss to Downers Grove South last week.