Naperville Central keeps it going

With eight times as many varsity returners back in 2014, the Naperville Central volleyball program expects a much better mark than the .500 record it registered last fall.

Early returns seem to indicate the Redhawks will indeed meet these higher expectations. Despite a tough opening slate, Naperville Central returned from Effingham this weekend after a pair of tough losses and a Bronze Division crown with a 5-3 record heading into Tuesday's DuPage Valley Conference opener with Glenbard North.

Strong serving powered the hosts to a 25-11, 25-16 defeat of the Panthers as several Redhawks - including a pair of freshmen - saw quality minutes. The hosts made few mistakes in the opener while jumping ahead 13-3 and closing out the set on a winner by outside hitter Sam Herron.

"I feel like we played well but there are still a lot of things that we have to improve on," junior setter Andi Davenport said. "We're definitely getting better each day in practice. Tonight was just another part of our learning experience."

One of the things Naperville Central learned was that strong serving throughout the match could make matters difficult on Glenbard North (2-6, 0-1). But another was that this year's Panthers are not going to go down without a fight.

After the tough first set, Glenbard North battled throughout the second, even taking a 12-11 lead before the Redhawks closed out the night with a 14-5 run that featured a pair of aces from Sam Clements, two more from freshman Sarah Schank, and another from senior team leader Phoebe Havenaar.

"They are an excellent serving team and that really put us in a pinch a couple of times," first-year Glenbard North coach Anne Mastandrea said. "But our record and our scores I think aren't reflecting the growth that we've made. We knew it was going to be a hard match, but we wanted to stay positive and hustle on the court. I thought we did a really great job of keeping our composure throughout the match."

Stephanie Cole and Sarah Petzold each had 4 kills for the Panthers, but Naperville Central had just too much experience and firepower to overcome. The Redhawks totaled 10 aces on the night and senior Maggie Amberg led the offense with 6 kills, five of which came in Game 1.

"Last year we had one returner on varsity and this year we've got eight and they're getting a lot of quality minutes for us," Redhawks coach Jeff Danbom said. "I love watching the older girls teach the younger girls and show them what the program is all about."

While Schank and fellow freshman Brenna Hess saw lots of action, it was veterans like Havenaar, Amberg and Davenport who looked real sharp.

Havenaar said returning to town after five quality matches at Effingham didn't hurt matters any in the conference opener.

"We just got back from Effingham so we are like really fresh off the court," the middle hitter said. "We came back yesterday and worked on the things that we struggled with over the weekend. Honestly, we just came out ready to play today."