Versatile Wilcox keys Mundelein

Madi Wilcox seems destined for a prosperous volleyball career.

For one thing, she’s only a sophomore. And for a Mundelein team with six seniors, she never seems to come off the court. For this Mustangs team she splits a 6-2 offense with senior Karen Chin.

“I kind of half set and half hit,’’ Wilcox said. “I do whatever.”

On Tuesday night at home, Wilcox had 7 kills and 9 assists in a tough match with Antioch. It went the distance as Mundelein held off Antioch 25-19, 22-25, 25-20 in a North Suburban Conference crossover battle.

Mundelein coach George Dressen is well aware he has a strong player in Wilcox.

“Madi is real aggressive,’’ Dressen said. “She’s also a strong leader on the court. She’s very versatile and she’s also able to play defense.”

Set one was up for grabs until Mundelein senior Brittany Busscher went into serve. She had help on offense from both Ashley Dolin and Wilcox. An ace from Wilcox closed the first set.

Antioch (13-7) stayed close in the second set. Some key blocking from sophomore Samantha Falco gave the Sequoits a lead. Marissa Grant’s serving ended set two in Antioch’s favor.

“We came in thinking this would be a tough match with Antioch,’’ Wilcox said.

Dressen agreed with Wilcox’s assessment.

“Antioch is a solid team,’’ Dressen said. “They play with a lot of energy.”

Again, the third set was as close as the first two. On a kill from another sophomore, Elene Kelsh, the Sequoits knotted the set at 10-10.

“We are young and are still making our share of mistakes,’’ said Antioch coach Glen Heitman. “But each day, we get better.”

Wilcox’s offense clicked in at the right time for Mundelein in the decisive third set. With Busscher serving, the sophomore delivered three straight kills to give her Mustangs a 16-12 lead. Chin and Courtney Perreault also

delivered kills late in set three.

The Mustangs are 10-9 after this win.

“We’ve grown every day in practice,’’ Wilcox said. “We have high hopes.”

Busscher led the Mundelein offense with 9 kills. Chin had 4 kills and 11 assists. Karolina Sierzputowska helped with 4 blocks. Dolin added 3 blocks.

Libero Erin Howard led the Mundelein defense with 20 digs. Busscher added 18 digs.

The hard-hitting Grant led Antioch’s offense with 8 kills. She had 4 kills and helped the Sequoits defense with 10 digs. Jessica Ploss also had 8 kills. Also helping the Antioch offense were Leah Pranke (5 kills) and Kelsh (4 kills). Falco’s 6 blocks led the way. Both Kelsey Schreiber and Sarah Gagnon had 8 digs each.