BC rolls past Marengo; Whips suffer first loss
Burlington Central used its aggressive serving to put Marengo back on its heels. Then the Rockets' hitters finished off the Indians.
With 7 aces and some big hitting from Stephanie Holthus and Taylor Scully, the Rockets handled Marengo, 25-8, 25-16, in Big Northern East action in Marengo.
Holthus had 11 kills to lead the Rockets, while Scully added 8. Molly Turk had 20 assists and also added 5 kills. But serving was the big key for the Rockets.
Central trailed 4-3 in Game 1, but a kill by Holthus got the Rockets the serve. Megan Zasada promptly fired an ace to put the Rockets ahead to stay. It was part of a 13-1 run by Central.
Audrey Dzukic fired 4 straight aces to make it 22-6 and the Rockets coasted home from there.
"We came out strong," said Central coach Marv Leavitt. "We got them off the net with our aggressive serving. We've been working to become a little more aggressive serving team."
In all, Zasada had 4 aces and 10 service points, and Dzukic had 4 aces.
The Rockets jumped out to a 12-3 lead in Game 2, then hit a flat spot in the middle of the game before finishing strong.
Everybody chipped in for the Rockets (15-3, 3-0).
"We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different people," said Leavitt. "It was a good overall effort from the setter, the hitters, and everyone."
The Indians got as close as 17-12 in the second game before a 5-0 run put the Rockets firmly in control. A kill by Holthus and back-to-back kills by Scully got the run started.
Melanie DiPuma led Marengo with 3 kills. Robin Boyd and Marissa Haskins had 2 apiece.
Harvard d. Hampshire: After a 25-19 Game 1 win, Hampshire (15-1) came up just short in the following two games (26-24, 25-22) dropping its first contest of the season in Big Northern East Conference competition. Despite the loss, the Whips had key contributions from Kara Wehrs (11 kills, 27 assists, 11 digs), Amy Wehrs (13 kills) and Allison Bonkowski (4 stuff-blocks).
Crystal Lake South d. Dundee-Crown: With solid play from Erin Johnson (7 kills, 7 blocks), Caitlin Schumacher (9 kills) and Jordan Guida (18 assists, 6 digs, 2 aces), Crystal Lake South (11-1, 2-0) earned this Fox Valley Conference Valley Division win in two games (25-9, 25-8). Stephanie Thorson had 2 kills for Dundee-Crown (7-4, 1-1).
Fox Valley Lutheran Academy d. Harvest Christian: By scores of 25-19 and 25-12, Fox Valley Lutheran Academy (5-3) overcame Harvest Christian. Leading the Falcon attack were Denise Short (7 aces, 2 kills), Sarah Mounger (4 aces, 2 kills), Tegan Pfortmiller (4 kills, ace, block) and Yuri Nakamura (5 assists, ace).
Bartlett d. Elgin: Combined efforts from Carly Sahagian (13 kills, 2 digs, 6 aces), Emily Hayes (6 digs, 3 kills) and Alyssa Cazzato (18 assists, 4 digs) led Bartlett (12-4-1, 4-1) to this Upstate Eight Conference win over Elgin.
Neuqua Valley d. South Elgin: Despite strong efforts from Kelly Reilly (4 kills, 7 digs), Sarah Havermann (7 digs) and Christie Cortese (7 digs), South Elgin (1-10, 1-4) fell to Neuqua Valley in Upstate Eight Conference play by scores of 25-18, 25-24.
Morgan Park Academy d. Elgin Academy: The Hilltoppers (1-2, 1-1) fell in the Independent School League to Morgan Park Academy 25-7, 25-22. Caitlin Ward stood out at the net for EA.
Lake Park d. Streamwood: Lake Park setter Katie Grouzard couldn't wait for another shot at Streamwood.
Just over a week ago Grouzard and her Lancers teammates lost to the Sabres at the Glenbard West tournament, so they were looking forward to Tuesday's rematch, a battle that counts in the Upstate Eight Conference standings.
This time around the Lancers (6-9, 2-2) played a much crisper match and swept the Sabres 25-17, 25-10. Grouzard dished out 14 assists, but just as important was her strong serving, especially down the stretch in the second game.
"The energy tonight," said Grouzard, when asked what the difference was this time against Streamwood. "Last week we had our minds on homecoming. But after we lost to them it was like, 'We have to take Streamwood next time.' We were eager for this match."
Serving played a big role in Tuesday's match as the Sabres missed 9 serves and struggled with many of the Lancers' offerings. Grouzard had 3 aces on the night, with 2 coming while she turned a 16-10 lead into a 25-10 victory by rattling off the final 9 points of the match.
Each game was tight for awhile, with the opener knotted at 7-7 and Streamwood trailing just 8-7 in Game 2 following a Betsy Holman kill. Holman led the visitors with 6 kills and 3 blocks, but the Sabres had no answer for Grouzard's tough serving late in the match.
"Lake Park's a good team and they played really well," Streamwood coach Kevin Kwon said. "Ball control wasn't there in the second game. The girls are much better than they played tonight."
Lake Park used a balanced attack as Maddie Sommers, Kristen Danek and Chelsea Gieseke each recorded 4 kills, while Sarah Drozdowski added 3.
-Stan Goff
Jacobs d. McHenry: In a hard-fought battle on both ends, Jacobs (6-11, 1-1) came out ahead of McHenry 25-22, 19-25, 25-12 in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action. Leading the Golden Eagle attack were Erica Liss (27 assists, 4 aces, 3 kills, 7 digs), Lauren Pigatto (12 kills, 21 digs, 4 blocks) and Staci Weinert (5 kills, 20 digs, 2 blocks).
Huntley d. Grayslake Central: Huntley (11-6, 2-0) remains unbeaten in Fox Valley Conference Fox Division action after beating Grayslake Central in 2 games by scores of 25-11, 25-23. With 9 aces and 23 assists, Amanda Carroll led the way for the Red Raiders. Amy Dion had 8 digs.
Cary-Grove d. Woodstock: Led by the offense of Kelly Lamberti (7 kills, 3 aces) and the defense of Abbey Heredia (10 digs, 14 assists), Cary-Grove (19-3, 2-0) earned this Fox Valley Conference Valley Division win over Woodstock. The Trojans won by scores of 25-17, 25-15.