Whips get some revenge; BC clinches tie for BN-E
A jump serve helped the Hampshire girls volleyball team get the jump on visiting Harvard Tuesday evening.
Kansas-bound setter Kara Wehrs unveiled a jump serve in match action for the first time this season and led the Whip-Purs to a 10-0 lead in Game 1 with 9 straight service points, including 4 aces.
"I've been working a lot in practice to get consistent with it, and I was excited to come out and show them I could do it," said Wehrs, who finished with 6 aces.
The fast start was enough to power the Whip-Purs to a 25-15 win in the opener, and Hampshire completed its sweep of its Big Northern-East rival by closing out the second game 25-22.
It was a satisfying victory for Hampshire (25-7, 6-2), which lost at Harvard (18-8, 6-3) in 3 games on Sept. 25.
"We had 11 missed serves the first time we saw them," Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse said. "Today we came out and got our serves in and it was a totally different match. And the girls were ready for this match. They wanted to win."
The Whips were fired up, in part, thanks to Whitehouse's concise pre-match message.
"Coach said before we came out, 'The only thing I've got to tell you is revenge,' " junior middle hitter Cassie Dumoulin said. "The way we played was big time. It feels really good right now."
Hampshire's early, 10-point lead put a stranglehold on Game 1. The Hornets never came closer than 7 points (12-5). The Whips kept the heat on with a pair of fake-set tips by Kara Wehrs, a booming spike from junior Jennifer Hubbe, a finessed redirection shot by junior Chrissy Heine and a comet unleashed from the hand of junior outside hitter Amy Wehrs that bulged Hampshire's edge to 23-14.
Hampshire closed out Game 1 on a pretty play as Kara Wehrs back set Alex Dumoulin, who sent a shot off a blocker.
Game 2 was more competitive. Harvard pulled within 10-9 after Kara Wehrs committed rare back-to-back hitting errors. She rebounded immediately by lacing a spike that diving Harvard libero Taryn Stricker couldn't reach, then she served her sixth ace for a 12-9 lead.
The Hornets pulled within 24-23 when a Hampshire shot grazed the out-of-bounds wand. However, the Whip-Purs clinched the victory with a pair of one-sets from Kara Wehrs that Cassie Dumoulin pounded for kills.
"Kara did an awesome job and I have to credit the defense for setting it up with perfect passes," Dumoulin said. "It's a nice play because it keeps the defense off guard. They're always after Amy and Kara. I would be too with how hard they hit."
Burlington Central d. Marengo: Burlington Central (23-5, 8-0) remained perfect in Big Northern East play and clinched no worse than a tie for the division title after this 25-18, 25-17 victory over Marengo. Leading the Rocket attack were Stephanie Holthus (11 kills, 3 aces, 5 digs), Meghan Zasada (6 kills, 3 aces) and Molly Turk (19 assists, 7 kills, 3 aces).
Crystal Lake South d. Dundee-Crown: Crystal Lake South came out on the winning end of this 25-14, 25-10 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division meeting. Kelsi Cook led Dundee-Crown (12-9, 2-5) with 5 kills.
Streamwood d. South Elgin: Led by Betsy Holman (7 kills, 2 blocks), Adriana Salgado (15 assists), Arielle Gallione (5 kills, 5 aces) and Melissa Oehlerking (6 kills), Streamwood (7-20, 3-6) earned this Upstate Eight Conference win over South Elgin. Falling by scores of 25-17, 25-23, South Elgin (6-17, 2-6) saw solid efforts from Hayley Bradley (7 kills, 3 digs, 2 aces), Genevieve Johnson (8 digs) and Christie Cortese (14 assists, 2 aces, 3 digs).
Jacobs d. McHenry: Big game efforts from Lauren Pigatto (13 kills, 13 digs), Erica Liss (15 assists, 4 digs), Klaudia Velazquez (16 digs) and Stacie Weinert (3 kills, 12 digs) led Jacobs (13-15, 4-3) to this 25-23, 25-9 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory over McHenry.
St. Charles East d. Bartlett: Despite key efforts from Alyssa Cazzato (18 assists), Carly Sahagian (8 kills, 4 digs) and Emily Hayes (8 kills, 6 digs), Bartlett dropped this Upstate Eight Conference match to St. Charles East 25-15, 25-17.
Huntley d. Grayslake Central: By scores of 25-13 and 25-16, Huntley (17-9, 6-1) walked away with the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division win over Grayslake Central. Amy Dion (5 service points, 12 digs) and Allyson Stellmach (5 service points, 8 digs, 6 kills) led the Red Raider attack.
Chicago Christian d. Westminster Christian: By matching scores of 25-8, 25-8 Westminster Christian (9-12, 2-6) lost this Private School League meeting. Sarah Rodgers (6 digs, 2 kills) led the Warrior approach.
Cary-Grove d. Woodstock: With Kelly Lamberti (7 kills) and Hayley Shaw (4 aces) leading the way, Cary-Grove (28-4, 7-0) put this 25-14, 25-10 victory in the books to remain unbeaten in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division play.
Lake Park d. Elgin: After winning the opener 25-20, Elgin (12-10, 4-4) dropped the next two 25-17, 25-11 and fell to Lake Park in Upstate Eight Conference competition. Kendall Martin had a huge night for the Maroons with 14 kills and 2 blocks.
Jen LaPorte contributed to this report.