Girls volleyball: Energized Bartlett handles Streamwood

Bartlett coach Melissa Ortiz may have finally found what she has been looking for from her girls volleyball team.

The Hawks have won 2 of their last 3 matches, including a dominating 25-14, 25-13 Upstate Eight crossover victory at Streamwood on Monday night.

"They played tonight with the kind of energy I have been waiting for all season," Ortiz said. "We are at the point where we were hoping to be around the middle of the season. So we are a little late in getting here, but I'm glad we finally arrived."

The Hawks were aggressive at the net and had a 25-9 kill advantage. Megan Regan had 7 kills and 4 blocks to lead the way.

"I think as a team we have been a lot more focused," Regan said. "We are doing what we need to do and working as one like a fluid machine. Our communication on the court has been getting a lot better and that is making a big difference."

Emily Baggot and Mackenzie Bush added 5 kills each for the Hawks.

"We really played under control and stayed positive the whole way," Ortiz said. "Megan was our wall up front. I thought our passing was a big key, too. That allowed us to get into our offense."

The Hawks (5-15) also served 9 aces. Shayna Chacko had a team-high 3 aces. All of them came during a 10-0 run that put the Hawks in control 18-7 in Game 1. Regan and Baggot added 2 aces each while Lauren Baumgardner and Natalie Hasset had 1 each.

"We have been working on serving tougher," Ortiz said. We let the girls figure out the defense themselves. They did a good job of finding spots and changing it up."

The Hawks led from start to finish in Game 2. Regan had a 7-point service run, including a pair of aces, that gave the Hawks a 13-2 lead.

Streamwood falls to 4-22 on the season.

"Both games we had a situation where one of their servers took control of the game," Streamwood coach Daniel Aloisio said. "Once we fell behind we just couldn't get it back. We had been playing better recently, but tonight was a step back."

Ashley Rothenberg had 5 kills to lead the Sabres.