Girls volleyball: Sutter, a proponent of being ‘really positive,’ keeps faith as St. Charles North edges St. Charles East

St. Charles North’s Ellie Sutter spent the past two seasons in the background. Sutter and her teammates had a front-row seat to The Haley Burgdorf Show before she departed for Penn State.

Now, it’s Sutter’s turn to have the lead role. And she’s enjoying it even more than she expected.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Sutter said. “The last couple years, it’s always been Haley. It was so much fun to watch Haley do it. I didn’t realize how much fun it would be to be the one getting the kills.”

The senior outside hitter, who doesn’t plan on playing volleyball in college, is definitely loving it. And her infectious energy has provided a big boost for the North Stars.

She led both teams Tuesday with 15 kills in a raucous 25-13, 23-25, 25-18 DuKane Conference win over visiting St. Charles East. Three kills came in a final 6-0 run to close out the match.

Brynn Hopkins added 11 kills and two blocks for St. Charles North (15-10, 4-0), while Mya Mikos came through with four kills and Addison Kashuba served three aces.

Emma Phillips was dynamic for St. Charles East (14-5, 2-2), putting down 12 kills. Scarlett Dickerson added six kills, with Nora Lange chipping in with three kills and two aces.

Sutter, who sat out club season, admitted she was nervous coming into the fall without the increased reps and knowing her role was going to change in a big way.

St. Charles North coach Lindsey Hawkins knows she’s equipped to handle it, however.

“She just plays better when she chooses to smile through the mistakes because that’s who she is,” Hawkins said of Sutter. “She doesn’t let things get her down. They feed off of that and a lot of other people have taken off because of it.”

The fact that Sutter is done playing at the end of the season has also played into that mentality.

“I keep it lighthearted because this is my last season,” she said. “It’s probably the last time even touching a volleyball, honestly. I take a lot of pride in that because I try to keep it really positive.”

Sutter and Hopkins sparked St. Charles North to a hot start Tuesday.

As the North Stars built a 12-2 lead in the first game, Sutter and Hopkins each had three kills and Hopkins added a block. A season-long slump in the second game reared its head again, though.

A series of errors kept St. Charles East in it, with Lange’s kill forcing a third game.

Hawkins’ message was simple.

“It’s an emotional night always when we play East,” Hawkins said. “It’s making sure that we stay calm, make sure we’re composed and rely on the good things that we do.

“Don’t try to do anything extra or different, just do the things we do well, which is serve and pass.”

St. Charles East coach Jessa Henry was happy with how her team responded.

“I think they’re getting into the mindset of how they bounce back and how they can look to one another and show gratitude and get through it with one another,” Henry said.

With her optimistic attitude, Sutter wasn’t concerned.

“We knew we were going to win it,” she said. “We knew it was going to be hard. They’re a good team, but it wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we would win it.”

That’s what Hawkins likes to see as she watches Sutter blossom into a star as a senior.

“We rely on her a lot,” Hawkins said. “She gets the ball all the time. Last year, she was going to get the ball maybe three or four times and we said, ‘You just have to keep it in, very few errors.’

“Now, we’re just relying on her to swing away on the ball.”