Scouting DuPage County girls volleyball
Top teams: Benet, Downers Grove North, Glenbard South, Glenbard West, Montini, Naperville North, St. Francis, Waubonsie Valley.
Top players: Addison Trail: Nina Muell, OH, sr., Jessica D'Ambrose, OH, jr.; Benet: Hattie Monson, L, jr., Ally Van Eekeren, S, sr., Sophie Gregus, MB/OH, jr., Rachel Muisenga, S/RS, so.; Downers North: Margaret Mahlke, OH, sr., Beth Dunlap, S, sr.; Downers South: Lucy Dumford, OH, sr.; Fenton: Vicky Krzyszkowsk, M, sr.; Glenbard East: Allison Hamaker, OH, Sarah Elliott, OH, sr., Emily Sarles, S, sr.; Glenbard North: Maddie Vegrzyn, MH, sr.; Glenbard South: Maggie Bair, MB, sr., Beth Kohl, OH, sr., Kathleen Millett, OH/L, jr., Sadie Camfield, S, jr.; Glenbard West: Ananda Patterson, MH, sr; Katie Ryan, L, sr., Nina Crawford, MH/OH, sr.; Hinsdale Central: Olivia Kreischer, OH, sr.; Hinsdale South: Abby Mihalkanin, S, sr.; ICCP: Sophie Hurt, S, so.; Metea Valley: Ellie Heney, OH/DS, sr.; Jaime Samojedny, L, sr.; Montini: Joslyn Boyer, DS, sr.; Maddie Pickering DS, sr.; Caitlyn Meeks, sr.; Naperville Central: Alex VanWestrienen, L, sr.; Naperville North: Sarah Kushner, OH, sr.; Kayla Griesbach, RS, sr.; Molly Russell, L, sr.; Grace Selman, S, sr.; Neuqua Valley: Bella Aguilar, OH, sr.; Faith Johnson, OH, jr.; Taylor O'Malley, OH, jr.; St. Francis: Maria Russo, L, sr., Ashley Zulauf, OH, sr., Anna Calcagno, OH, jr.; Timothy Christian: Heidi Westra, OH, sr.; Waubonsie Valley: Melissa Walden, S, jr.; Cassie Chinn, OH, sr.; Gabi Croll, OH, jr., Wheaton North: Ani Clark, MH, sr.; WW South: Sarah Burau, S, jr.; Zayna Meyer, S, so.; Willowbrook: Payton Ceh, L., jr.; York: Gigi Barr, OH, so.
Outlook: While perennial powers Benet and St. Francis return a number of talented players and no one will look forward to playing either team in 2018, there very well could be a few new teams sitting atop the DuPage County totem pole this season. Powerful outside hitter Kushner looks to cap her time at Naperville North with a big senior campaign. She is just one of five key returners for the Huskies, who went 30-8 last year before falling to eventual state runner-up Minooka. Naperville North, however, will have its hands full in the new five-team DuPage Valley Conference. Waubonsie Valley will field a solid, deep team this fall after winning 24 matches and a regional crown.
Kushner is a two-time Daily Herald All-Area selection and adds great passing, serving and defense to her enormous attacking abilities. Fellow seniors Griesbach, Russell and Selman also return, along with 6-foot-1 junior middle blocker Linnea Dale. Coach Jennifer Urban, who notched her 400th win in 2017, also expects a big contribution to come from sophomore middle Ellie Hall.
For Waubonsie Valley, which swept Oswego East 25-18, 25-13 in its season opener, Walden played a key role in the team's success last year and will have plenty of experience around her on the court. Junior right side Elenzie France and outside hitters Chinn and Croll provide plenty of offense, while junior Rianna DeMyers is a force in the middle. The Warriors had an impressive season last year, upsetting third-seeded Joliet Catholic en route to its first regional title since 2013 and then turned in a stellar summer. "I was extremely impressed with our performance throughout the summer and I am looking forward to having another successful season with this group," Warriors coach Kari Galen said. "We have a lot of strong athletes with a lot of potential. This is a great group of kids and I can't wait to see what this season has in store for us."
Looking at the rest of the DVC, Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central each are coming off strong showings, but each was hit hard by graduation. The Mustangs swept their way to the league crown in 2017 but now must move forward without All-Area team captain Mikaila Dowd and fellow graduate and All-Area first-teamer Sydney Aitchison, Metea's setter when the team set the program record for wins.
"After graduating all our starts except for our libero our motto this year is to be patient. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs this year with how strong our schedule is along with having to play the Napervilles and Valleys twice in conference with the other schools jumping ship from our conference," Mustangs coach David Macdonald said. "We are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us and hope to be playing our best volleyball come tournament time."
Metea Valley seniors Heney, Samojedny, Jamie Janczak and Hannah Hutzler, a 5-11 middle, will provide leadership, while a young group of newcomers will need to step up and have an impact early on. These reinforcements will come from freshmen Regan Holmer and Morgan Rank, sophomore middles Keira Jannisch and Emily Day, and juniors Gabby Zawadzki and Annika Altekruse.
Coming off of a 22-15 season, Neuqua Valley will feature returning outside hitters Johnson, O'Malley and Aguilar, a three-year varsity player. Newcomer senior Avery Beinhauer should provide an explosive attack. Returning senior middle Brianne Pirkins along with newcomers senior Jennifer Pochyly and sophomore Riley Ammenhauser will provide a multilayered offense along with a formidable block. The responsibility of feeding these hitters falls on a returning setter/right side senior Karly Miller along with Juniors Eva Topolewski and Ally Knapczyk.
Naperville Central graduated nine seniors, including All-Area outside hitter Sarah Schank, but the Redhawks do return a pair of starters in Kayla Closset, a 5-11 outside attacker, and VanWestrienen, a libero and Elon commit. "This will be a rebuilding year for Naperville Central High School, but we have good, hardworking kids who are up for the challenge," coach Brie Isaacson said.
Brad Baker, who enters the new school year with a 399-47 record in 11 seasons, guided Benet to a 32-7 mark before falling to Minooka in the Class 4A sectional finals. The three-time state champion Redwings have won 11 straight regional titles and ended last fall as the top team in DuPage County. "We are very good defensively, but how good we are on offense will determine if we can hang with the elite teams," Baker said. "We are going to play a different offensive system to try and take advantage of all of our pins and a defensive system that we haven't run since 2012 when we won the 4A title. I am extremely excited to see all of it in action." Benet's roster is filled with defensive standouts, but none better than junior Hattie Monson, a 5-5 libero who was All-Area in 2017, has committed to play at Notre Dame and recently made the USA Volleyball Girls National Junior Olympic team. Joining Monson as returners with varsity experience are: Van Eekeren, a setter committed to Creighton; Caroline Gard, a libero committed to Washington and Lee; Caitlin McKee, a senior outside hitter (named club All-America at USAV); Valentina Tabares, a senior outside hitter; Gregus; libero Annie Sobolewski; Muisenga, a 6-0 sophomore setter who played right side last year and is committed to Penn State; and sophomore outside hitter Kyla Kenney, who was talented enough as a freshman to work her way on the varsity floor last year. Benet's depth will get a boost from 6-0 freshman middle Ann Marie Remmes and 6-1 sophomore Caitlin Wepfer, a transfer from Plainfield Central.
St. Francis returns plenty of experience and talent after the Spartans won 25 matches a year ago before dropping a three-setter to Downers Grove North in the Class 4A sectional semifinals. A trio of outside hitters return to pace the offense in Ashley Zulauf, a 6-0 senior, Anna Calcagno, a 6-1 junior, and Katelyn Hanrahan, a 5-10, senior. "We are very excited about the upcoming year," St. Francis coach Lisa Ston said. "We have most of our starting lineup returning, and it is helpful to have experienced players leading the team. The girls have worked hard in the off-season and are ready to see what this year will bring." Senior setter Annabelle Tomei, senior Sam Ward, senior middle Skylar Lukowych, and Russo, will help key the Spartans' success. Sophomore Katlyn Sipes will help the defense after a stellar club season.
Glenbard West and coach Pete Mastandrea always play a tough schedule and always pile up wins, averaging more than 30 over the last seven seasons. The Hilltoppers went 29-10 in 2017 and won a sixth straight regional before falling to Downers North in the sectional finals while playing without the injured Patterson. She'll return this season from her knee injury and the 5-11, four-year starter should help the program continue to win. "The only graduate from last season was Hannah Brodner, and Ananda Patterson will be one of the top players in the area when she returns from her knee injury," Mastandrea said. "A very energetic, experienced senior class should equate to good volleyball at West. Patterson's return will be very significant in how well we do." With all-conference libero Ryan back along with senior setter Kaitlyn Dumerrer and the team's top four offensive players, Glenbard West will be strong again. Crawford, a four-year starter at middle/outside hitter, outside hitters Virginia Curtis and Ellory Graff and defensive specialist Sophie Alles all are back, and Mastandrea lists Anna Sear, Katie Langan and Ashleigh Wince as top newcomers.
Downers North had a great campaign in 2017, going 27-13, winning the West Suburban Silver at 6-0 and claiming a sectional title before falling to St. Charles North in the Elite Eight. While the Trojans will surely miss all-stater and Villanova recruit Clare Delaplane, they do return nine seniors and a large percentage of their offense. Mahlke, a 6-0 senior outside hitter committed to play at St. Louis U., is back for a fourth varsity season along with Jade Casper, 6-0 Maddie Degiorgio, and Dunlap. Downers North has nine seniors, but sophomores Madison Cuchran and Mikayla Sweeney will serve as defensive specialists, and 5-11 freshman Gwen Wolkow will help as a hitter. Fourth-year, 6-1 middle blocker Payton Wendt is recovering from a torn ACL.
Glenbard South will head into its first season in the Upstate Eight Conference after going 22-15 and winning the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division. The Raiders will also head into the season with 13 returners, including 6-3 Bair, an All-Area standout who had 376 kills, 214 digs, and 114 blocks while earning conference MVP honors. "This team has a lot of potential. We have one of the better offensive options in the state in Maggie Bair, who plays six rotations out of the middle," coach Chad Grant said. "This team is not flashy, outside of Maggie, but they play really well together and learned how to win in the final two-thirds of last season. I expect us to have a strong season and be a factor in a very tough and deep sectional come playoff time." The long list of top returners includes all-conference players Kohl, a 6-0 senior, and Millett, along with Camfield, who had 717 assists and 98 digs. They also have Lauren Sweeton and Jess Villa.
For Addison Trail, Muell, will start for a fourth season after leading the team with 304 kills in 2017 as the Warriors went 16-21. Other key returners this fall will be D'Ambrose, setter Amy Reyes, and Katrina Bielanski. D'Ambrose won a national championship and was recognized as an All-American libero in the 16 Aspire Division this summer.
Downers South won a conference title last year and looks solid again with three-year returners Dumford and junior setter Addy Karmik paving the path and fellow returners Jess Juerke, Rose Dumford, Sarah Reilly, Alyssa Mojica, Abby Valliere and Grace Lamoreaux. "The gym is more competitive than it has been in a while, and these girls are ready to put in what it takes to earn a spot on the court. They fought to remain undefeated in summer league and continue to create a culture in the gym that hard work is the only option," new coach Kristee Conrad said.
Hinsdale South coach Alison Balmer is excited to have fourth-year setter Mihalkanin to run the offense and newcomer junior Sam Pacentine, who she says is a "ridiculously good DS," to help the defense and passing. Outside hitters Kaitlyn Hurka and Mia Lombardo and experienced middle Claire Zipsie will provide power at the net. Aurora Korfist, a junior, will also set as the Hornets (17-20 in 2017) run a 6-2 offense.
Glenbard North is paced by captains Vegrzyn and Maddie Meyers, a junior outside hitter, and coach Anne Bremner says, "You can expect a lot of fire power and leadership out of these two this year." Also returning for the Panthers are Anastasia Brown, a junior middle hitter, Alyssa Torres, a junior outside, and sophomore libero Olivia Muller.
With a trio of top players back, Glenbard East looks to improve on last year's 18-20 mark. Six-foot outside hitters Allison Hamaker and Sarah Elliott will be joined by setter Emily Sarles to form a strong nucleus. They'll get plenty of support from newcomers Cassie Schweikle, Libby Hurlburt, Emily Ryan and junior middles Hannah Simek and Alex Walton. "We battled a lot of adversity last year," Rams coach Marci Maier said. "We are looking forward to a much-improved team from last year. We hope to continue to play great defense and our offense should be improved. We have a great group of girls and are very optimistic about the upcoming season."
Fenton returns 11 players this season and the expectations are very high. After three straight 13-win seasons the program is looking to push toward 20 wins this season. Seniors Julia Kaspari, Isa Lozada, Payton Pugliese, Denisse Ramirez, MacKenzie Miller, Ashley Lira, Krzyszkowski (all-conference in 2017), Agata Kukielko, and Hanna Matuszewski, along with juniors Julianna Krebasch and Noha Zaggoti all return with plenty of varsity experience. Coach Kelly Kleidorfer will earn her 50th victory with the Bison's first win this season.
Montini finished 22-11 and lost in the Class 3A sectional finals. All-conference standouts Boyer and Pickering will pace the Broncos defense, while fellow returners Meeks, Johanna Kingsfield, setter Tess Noonan, Julia Marciniak and Kylie Boyer add plenty to the experienced roster. Boyer has committed to the University of Iowa, while Meeks is headed to Georgia Southern University. Look for freshmen newcomers Paige Pickering and middle Maddie Kasallis to play nice roles. "As always, our regular season/tournament schedule is extremely tough. We have added several new teams to our schedule as long as returning our 4A level schedule," Montini coach Steve Dowjotas said. "We will be a mix of young and experienced and I expect the returning varsity players to bounce back from a tough loss in the sectional finals last year with a chip on their shoulder."
Wheaton North, 25-13 overall and third in the DuPage Valley Conference, won back-to-back regional titles before falling to Glenbard West in the sectionals. Ten seniors have graduated, but All-Area senior Clark (a Clemson recruit) will lead the middle attack along with fellow middle hitter Maggie Biegalski, who also started in 2017. Also back is Amee Beedle, an All-American at AAU for her championship team at SPRI. New setters Anna Ensing and Jackie Callaghan and defensive specialists Mikayla Wassell and Ayla Catugy look to step in and have an impact in 2018.
Timothy Christian finished 24-13 after losing to Fenwick in a three-setter in a Class 3A regional final. The 6-1 Westra had 268 assists and 35 blocks and, along with libero Abygale Ahn, will lead the way this fall. Four sophomores will play big roles - Greta Hoogstra, a 6-1 middle, outside hitter Hannah Schuringa, setter Campbell Marshall and defensive specialist Alli Myers.
With nine players and six starters back, Wheaton Warrenville South takes a talented, experienced squad into its new DuKane Conference with plans of making a leap from last year's 14-18 mark. Strong setters Burau, a 6-foot, two-year starter and the 6-1 Meyer, who is coming off an impressive freshman campaign, are back after each piled up their share of kills and assists, and they'll have many weapons to work with. Sara Field and Mackenzie Stebbins, each two-year starters on the outside, return along with middle hitters Kaileigh Ammons and Annika Barron.
West Chicago graduated 11 players after going 18-18 last season and will lane on junior libero Lily Smith and senior outside hitter Kristen Aalbue this time around.
For Westmont, returning seniors Halyn Balon and Lexi Johnson will lead the way, while sophomore setter Alexa Bueser will run a 5-1 for the second year in a row.
Willowbrook returns 10 players from an 11-win team with Ceh, an all-conference libero as a sophomore, back as a floor leader. Seniors Katelyn McCann, Kaitlyn Karcz, Emma Barrington and Charlotte Dewyer all started in 2017. Sophomore setter Grace Reckamp picked up valuable starting experience late last season.
IC Catholic Prep expects big things from setter Hurt, who will count Maya Stovall, Jess Sobon and Kaya Hood among her many weapons. The Knights beat Lisle 25-5, 25-12 in their season opener as Stovall and Sobon each had 7 kills.
York went 20-16 last fall while counting on some young players to play key roles. Gigi Barr was up to the task with a strong freshman season that landed her an All-Area honorable mention berth. The 6-1 attacker will carry the offense this year as a sophomore, but the Dukes will have plenty of height and other options to work with.
Wheaton Academy returns four starters in seniors Alyssa Mantia, Georgia Johnston and Aila Piech, and sophomore Schuyler Williams, while sophomore Leah Kodat is the Warriors' top newcomer.
New Hinsdale Central coach Tracey Marshall takes over a program that went 18-18 in 2017 and she'll have talented sophomores Nikolette Nedic and Brooke Cooper joining a solid group of returning seniors that includes Kreischer and Shannan Barrett, setter Lindsay Knutson and middle hitter Zoe Levin.