Cary-Grove outlasts Grayslake Central in 3
With 4-year standouts Lauren Lamberti and Lauren McLaughlin now displaying their talents at the collegiate level, Cary-Grove girls volleyball coach Patty Langanis isn't sure where the production will come from this season.
The veteran coach got a better idea Thursday night.
With Allison Straumann collecting 13 kills and Danielle Smith and freshman Kelly Lamberti delivering 8 kills each the Trojans held off pesky Grayslake Central 25-14, 24-26, 25-15 in a Fox Valley Conference crossover game in Cary Thursday night. It was the season opener for both teams.
"With the Laurens gone we are a completely different team," said Langanis.
"We can count on five different hitters. We are a very aggressive team that wants to swing hard 100 percent of the time. We need to learn to hold back."
Cary-Grove (1-0) came out the aggressor in Game 1. With Smith producing 3 kills off 2 sets from Abbey Heredia along with 2 kills from Straumann the Trojans blasted to a 11-4 advantage.
Leading most of the game, the Trojans scored the final 5 points including 2 kills from Breanna Smith to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.
Grayslake Central (0-1) battled back in Game 2. The Rams, led by Anna Dlesk's 2 kills, jumped off to a 12-6 lead.
The Trojans whittled away at the lead and tied the game at 21 on a kill by Straumann.
Cary-Grove looked to be en route to winning the match, by scoring the next 3 points to take a 24-21 lead.
Being within 1 point of defeat, the Rams knotted the match at 1-1 by scoring the final 5 points, capped by a kill from Tory Dohm.
The Trojans put the disappointment of the loss of Game 2 behind them and jumped off to a 12-3 lead to begin Game 3. Danielle Smith's kill gave the Trojans a 9-point lead.
Cary-Grove's biggest lead was at 19-6 after a kill by Heredia.
"We will certainly miss the Laurens, but we have a lot of depth," said Danielle Smith, a senior outside hitter. "We can rely on a lot of players in our offense. It is time for our seniors to step up. The team chemistry on this team is great."
Dlesk, Brianna Anderson, Dohm and Shannon Curtis (2 aces) collected 3 kills each for the Rams.
"We have a new attitude on this team this season," said Grayslake Central coach Jason Janczak. "We made a statement tonight. Our defensive philosophy was that nothing drops. We had a great summer and came out fired up tonight. We weren't used to being in a third game against a top-notch team. We were a little star struck in the third game."