St. Charles North handles South Elgin
St. Charles North girls volleyball coach Lindsey Hawkins stresses the importance of taking care of their own business to her team members.
“I tell them every day, ‘do not worry about what’s going on over there (at the other end of the court) -worry about our side,’” said Hawkins.
“These are the things that we can control.”
The North Stars certainly controlled their side of the court — and for that matter — the entire match during Thursday night’s 25-13, 25-7 Upstate Eight Conference crossover victory over South Elgin (0-3) in St. Charles.
St. Charles North, which raised its record to 9-0, jumped out to fast starts in both games.
In Game 1, the North Stars exploded to leads of 12-2 and 18-3 behind a balanced offensive attack fueled by Taylor Krage, Daley Krage, Emily Carroll, Jaclyn Taylor, Alex Seavey, Taryn DalDegan, Frankie Neari, Sydney Wohlert, and Claire Anderson.
In Game 2, Taylor Krage (6 kills, 1 block) recorded 4 of her kills during the North Stars’ 13-4 surge while Anderson (4 kills, 2 blocks) helped her team finish off the Storm with a late flurry that included 2 kills and a pair of blocks.
“I kind of got in a zone,” said Anderson, a sophomore right side who started at the varsity level as a freshman last season. “My setter and the rest of my teammates — they were playing awesome and I was just helping them out.”
While the Krage sisters can dominate play as powerful outside hitters, Anderson also figures prominently into the North Stars’ plans this season.
“It’s really nice to have another option,” said Hawkins. “That’s what is nice about this team — we really do have a lot of offensive weapons right now. Taylor and Daley are obviously getting set the most but Claire is right in there.
“She has been one of those players ever since she was in eighth grade that we knew was going to be an impact player for us,” added the coach. “She’s really coming along.”
Daley Krage added 5 kills and a block, while Wohlert delivered a pair of aces as part of the North Stars’ perfect serving performance.
“Serving is a variable that we can control,” said Hawkins.
Ashley Oandasan and Renee Rush paced South Elgin with 3 kills apiece, while Sarah Hallas had a pair of kills and Adrianna Loiacono added a kill and an ace.
“I feel like the score doesn’t really reflect how the girls on my side did,” said Storm coach Joni Plach. “We got some decent hits, we got some decent blocks, and we were able to have some rallies.”
Plach admitted her squad’s unforced errors were too much to overcome against a team like St. Charles North.
“It’s their consistency,” Plach said of the North Stars. “They don’t make a lot of errors. It’s us controlling the errors we make and they don’t mess up so we’re the ones that have to earn the point.”
St. Charles North can now turn its attention to Tuesday’s UEC River opener against Batavia.
“They’re going to be really solid defensively and it’s Pack the Place night for them Tuesday so it’s going to be a lively crowd,” said Hawkins.