Girls volleyball: Crystal Lake Central sweeps Jacobs
The rush and anticipation to finally compete hit Crystal Lake Central's girls volleyball team on the bus ride from Central to Jacobs.
"We were trying to stay calm. We didn't want to freak out first game or anything," said Maddy McCormick, a four-year varsity player for the Tigers. "The ride over was super fun. We were all hyped up ... ready to play."
Central's excitement carried over from the bus to the court, where the Tigers handled the Golden Eagles, 25-14, 25-13, Tuesday at the Eagles' Nest in the Fox Valley Conference opener for both teams.
"I really thought they just had a great time tonight," Tigers coach Lisa Brunstrum said. "I know it's hard to see with their masks on, but you can kind of see the sides of the eyes, they're smiling. Under there, they're talking, they're communicating, they're just happy to be playing together and representing Central."
After only seven practices, including a few days of tryouts, Central (1-0, 1-0 FVC) looked fairly seasoned in its sweep over Jacobs (0-1, 0-1).
"In a normal season, we would have had a week or two to put some things together," Brunstrum said. "I thought our hitters and setters communicated well. When we did get into trouble, we made some adjustments. I thought our blockers were really aggressive, trying to get their hands on everything. Same with the defense. I was really happy with their effort."
McCormick recorded four kills, three aces and five digs for Central. Junior outside hitter McKenna Timmerman led the Tigers' attack with five kills, senior middle blocker Madeline Timmerman had four kills, three blocks and two aces, and senior libero Karina Simatos had 12 digs and 10 points.
Lauren Klutke added three kills and six digs, while Ellen White had five digs. Central had six aces in the win.
Freshman setter Corynne Hausler had 16 assists, four kills and three blocks in her first match for the Tigers.
For the past four seasons, Hausler watched her older sister, Camryn, now playing at D-I Wright State, play a key role on successful Tigers teams. Corynne said she was "beyond excited" to play with her new high school teammates.
"I've grown up watching them all play, so I know their level of play, and I was so excited get on the court with them," Hausler said. "It definitely helped me learn a lot, just to see them play. Every day, I would watch them. It made me a better player in general."
Brunstrum saw confidence from Hausler right away.
"She's very confident and very comfortable," Brunstrum said. "She's really great at taking feedback, and she pushes hard each and every play and point. ... I told her tonight, hopefully her nerves and jitters are out, and she's only going to go up from here."
Jacobs was led by senior outside hitter Maggie Wallenberger with a match-best eight kills.
Junior outside hitter Ireland Van Stone had four kills and three aces, junior middle blocker Jaclyn Poirier had four kills, junior setter Rachel Kaczorowski had 22 assists, and junior libero Meredith Giustino added 14 digs.
Despite the loss, Jacobs coach Gary Granell took away positives from the season opener.
"It's a tough first match. Central is a good team, and I wish we had a little more experience under our belt before we met," Granell said. "When we control the ball, I think, offensively, we can do good things and hang with anybody. Defensively, we touched a lot of balls but didn't get in system. Our block needs to slow them down a little more because they have good hitters. If we can do that, I think we'll be in better shape for our next match."