Waubonsie V. spoils Saints' homecoming
On a night when St. Charles East's volleyball team had all the reason to be excited, it was Waubonsie Valley that enjoyed the biggest celebration.
Led by outside hitters Nicole Salmon (14 kills, 8 digs) and Martha Stewart (11 kills, 2 blocks), the Warriors (14-6, 5-1) rallied for a stunning 22-25, 25-22, 25-17 victory over the defending Class 4A state champion Saints (14-3, 4-1) Tuesday night in St. Charles.
"It was amazing," said Salmon. "I'm still shaking with excitement. I'm so happy."
Playing its first "true" home match after a 1-month gym floor repair, the Saints also held a pre-game ceremony in recognition of head coach Jennie Kull being named as the Illinois High School Association's Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year for 2008-2009.
The Saints overcame 5 service errors to fight off a furious Warrior comeback in Game 1, while Game 2 featured 15 ties and 9 lead changes before a back-row kill from Salmon sent the match to a pivotal third game.
With the score tied at 10-all, Waubonsie Valley responded with 5 unanswered points, fueled by 3 service aces from junior Ally Simmons.
From there, the Warriors, who never trailed in Game 3, sealed the outcome on consecutive kills from Stewart.
"That's definitely the best we've played this year," said Warriors coach Kristen Stuart. "I feel we've been building toward it the last couple weeks.
"The last time we played in here two years ago, we won to clinch a share of the conference title so both of my memories being here in this gym are very happy ones."
Salmon, a 4-year varsity veteran, was at her best when it mattered most, recording 10 kills in the final 2 games from all angles on the floor.
"Nicole played the game of her life tonight," said Stuart. "I was extremely excited to see her so excited. She definitely led us all night. She did a great job in the front and back rows."
"It wasn't just me, it was my team," said Salmon, who also received support from Jill Galovic (25 digs) and Meagan Mooney (24 assists). "It's our first big win - with hopefully more to come."
While Stuart classified the win as an upset, she expressed confidence in her team coming to St. Charles East.
"I think we came in here as the underdog but at the same time with the mentality that they were a beatable team," said Stuart. "The run for the conference title is still very much open because everyone has a loss now.
"I think when you come in as the 'underdog' maybe you're kind of surprised when you're winning at first but then once they saw that maybe they should be winning because they were playing so well, they got more confident that this could really happen."
St. Charles East was paced by Jacqui Seidel (10 kills, 15 assists, 19 digs), Meghan Niski (8 kills, 12 digs), Caroline Niski (7 kills, 10 digs) and Maisey Mulvey (14 digs).
"We have been fighting this battle of being complacent at the beginning (of matches) and we couldn't get ourselves out of it even after we got going," said Kull, who owns a 372-114 record in 13 years at the helm.
"The good news is that it's the middle of the season and we're young. These are the times that I know we're learning the most."