Prospect finds right answers
A few weeks ago, Prospect had no answer at Elk Grove when the Grenadiers hosted Hawaiian night and won 25-16, 25-17.
This time around, playing on their own island known as the Jean Walker Field House, the Knights girls volleyball team did not "lei" down for the visiting Grens.
Led by senior Rachel Hunt's match-high 8 kills, the Knights posted a 25-20, 25-22 triumph as senior Abby Homuth (12 assist) and sophomore Danielle Siwik (11) directed the offense.
"We really focused this time on keeping their runs down to a minimum," said Rachel Hunt, who was assisted on the front line by Sam Mangrum's 5 kills and 4 from Mariel Sobey. "We did a much better job this time limiting their runs."
In Game 2, Homuth served for the final point and also added a nifty one-handed dig in which she lifted it up for a nice set to her teammate. After a few more rallies, the Knights' finally got the 25th point on a hitting error to secure their 14th win in 20 matches.
The win gave them (5-2) sole possession of second place in the Mid-Suburban East behind Hersey (7-0).
"We want to get at least second so we need to keep winning our remaining matches," Homuth said. "They really beat us on Hawaiian night - we did not do well. But this time we blocked much better and we made fewer our errors.
"We played smarter. We have definitely improved from the start of the season, especially with our concentration."
Senior libero Maureen O'Keefe again sparked the Knights' back row with her 19-of-19 serve receive and 15 digs. Sarah Hunt, Rachel Hunt (2 aces) and Sobey (1 ace) each had 2 blocks.
"They punished us on Hawaiian Night so I was really pleased with this performance," said Knights coach Mike Riedy, whose girls will participate in their annual dodgeball game with Karie McClure's girls tennis team after practice today in the field house. "We have been working to solve some problems so tonight it really paid off."
Elk Grove (12-8, 4-3) was led on attack by Jessica Condon's 6 kills and 5 from Amanda Gattone. Condon also handed out 13 assists (50-of-52) while directing the 5-1 offense.
Olivia Roback collected 18 digs followed by Gattone (8) and Condon (7).
"We've been in kind of a funk at practice and just didn't come out strong to play," said Grenadiers coach Joe Di Silvio, whose team received an ace from Jessica Mueller and Tara Braceros.
Barrington d Fremd: Host Barrington (9-10, 4-3) won for the ninth time in its last 12 matches to pull to within one match of first place in the MSL West with a 25-19, 17-25, 25-22 victory over Fremd (14-6, 5-2).
Emily Harris (8 kills), Peyton Lang (6), Joy Johnson (5) and Kristie Fijal (4) led the attack for the hosts, who received 24 assists from Madison Lang.
Three Fillies made it into double figures for digs, led by Tanja Mookerji (20), Johnson (17) and Meagan Combs (10).
"Defensively we played great," said Fillies coach Chris Bronke. "You're tough to beat when you are digging like that. Meagan was great. We talked to her about some things after the match the night before (two-game loss to powerful St. Charles East) and she really picked them up fast."
The Fillies have won three straight in the MSL West after a loss to Conant.
"I thought both teams played a competitive match," Bronke said. "Fremd blocked unbelievably well. It was just a real good match. We have been playing real good volleyball lately and now we're fun to watch."
The Vikings were led by Alex Messner (5 kills), Colleen Andersen (5 kills) and Allison Grzesik (4 kills). Kayla Price handed out 24 assists. Tess Dinterman, Elizabeth Dotson and Price each had 2 blocks.
Because of a power outage, the start of the match was delayed until shortly after 7 p.m. All underlevel matches were suspended.
Hersey d. Deerfield: Hersey (20-1) won the nonconference match 25-16, 25-10 as Huskies coach Nancy Lill reached the 20-win plateau for the 23rd time in her 26 seasons (first three at Wheeling).
Jamie Welter led the Huskies' attack with 9 kills, followed by Katie Lill (6), Joanna Hoffman (6) and Maddie Swan (6).
Hoffman handed out 22 assists while Becca Haraf had 11 digs and 5 aces. Lill and Mueller each had a pair of aces.
Conant d. Hoffman Estates: The Cougars (7-9, 2-5) posted a 24-26, 26-24, 25-20 MSL West win behind the attack of Chelsea Vanicek (9 kills), Kristin Perschon (8), Allie Bauch (7) and Antonia Jones (4). Senior Marni Wiklanski handed out 23 assists while freshman Taylor Levitt had 14 digs. Hoffman is 11-9 and 4-3.
Addison Trail d. Schaumburg: Addison Trail won the nonconference match 25-21, 29-27 as Schaumburg (7-13) was led by Emily Young (7 kills, 6 digs, 2 aces), Rebecca Thompson (9 digs, 3 kills), Jenny Dolan (10 digs, 1 ace) and Ashlee Norris (10 assists, 8-of-8 serving).
St. Viator d. Marian Catholic: Before a big turnout for "Pack the Place" night at the Cahill Gymnasium, St. Viator improved to 16-3 and 5-1 in the ESCC with a 25-19, 25-18 triumph. Junior Carlyn Clevenger handed out 21 assists for the Lions while seniors Kelly Travaglio (7 kills), Kelly McConnell (6) and Mary Calov (5) paced the attack. Junior Emily Leazer and Calov each served for a pair of aces.