Batavia's scoring runs too much for South Elgin
Scoring runs usually determine a winner of a volleyball match.
Batavia used five scoring runs of at least five consecutive points Thursday to beat South Elgin, 25-11, 25-12, in an Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division match in South Elgin.
"I think it's very, very important, especially early in the game," Batavia senior Caitlin Piechota said of the runs. "Our serving has been really good and what has been winning our games. That's what gives us our runs."
The Bulldogs (8-1) trailed 1-0 in the opening game before scoring the next 6 points, three coming on kills from Mary Nilles and one on an ace from Piechota. Another 6-0 run gave Batavia a 12-4 advantage. The Bulldogs finished off Game 1, which also included a 4-0 run, by scoring the final 6 points for a 25-11 victory.
The Storm (1-1) led 6-4 in Game 2 before the Bulldogs again went on a run. Batavia scored five consecutive points, including a pair of kills from Piechota, to take the lead for good. Piechota and Meghan Fabian combined for a block to cap a 7-0 spurt and a 19-8 lead. Mary Kate Bryant, who led the Bulldogs with 9 assists, had her only kill on match point as Batavia took Game 2, 25-12.
"One of our jobs is to serve tough," Bulldogs coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. "We want our zones and take the other team out of their offense, which I think we were able to do."
South Elgin did not have a kill in the opening game and only five in the match, no one had more than one. The Storm is using a new offense, a 6-2 system that always has the setter in the back row and three hitters across the front, but with the Storm's passing troubles, the offense never got going.
"Our serve receive completely broke down," Storm coach Joni Plach said. "We're trying something new this year. I've never done that here. We're seeing how a 6-2 offense works, but you can't see what works if you can't serve receive."
Piechota led the Bulldogs with 6 kills and 2 blocks. Nilles had 5 kills and 7 assists. Kristen Koncelik added 4 kiils.