Trausch powers Cary-Grove by Dundee-Crown
A lot of seniors enter their final year in high school with aspirations of competing in athletics at the collegiate level or leading their teams to a long run in postseason play.
Cary-Grove senior middle blocker Kayli Trausch just wanted to play volleyball.
Hobbled by a herniated disk over the last two years, Trausch is finally 100 percent and her performance is showing it.
With 8 blocks and 6 kills, the healthy Trausch was a key component in Cary-Grove’s 25-16, 25-16 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division win over Dundee-Crown in Cary Tuesday night.
“I played a little bit last year as a junior and missed the club season in the spring because I was in such pain,” said Trausch. “I wanted to get ready for the high school season. It is nice to be 100 percent pain free. I did a lot of physical therapy and I feel great.”
Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis is glad to have a healthy Trausch in the lineup.
“We weren’t sure we were going to have her,” said Langanis. “She is 100 percent healthy and is playing at a high level. She is touching higher on her kills than ever before.”
The Trojans (10-7, 4-2) excelled in serving with 12 aces, which included 3 each by Sarah Graham and Morgan Lee along with 2 each by Bree Coffey and Abby Schebel.
In Game 1, with the score tied at 15, the Trojans reeled off 8 straight points to seize control. Schebel keyed the run with 3 kills while Erin Olson’s kill gave Cary-Grove a 1-0 lead in the match.
In Game 2, D-C (9-8, 2-3) started fast with a 4-0 lead keyed by 2 kills from Frankie Cavallaro.
The Trojans grabbed the lead for good at 11-10 on a kill from freshman Maddy Katchen. Meghan Seymour’s ace gave Cary-Grove Game 2 and the match.
Schebel added 8 kills and Lee contributed 4 kills along and Delaney Bayer contributed 8 digs.
The Chargers were led by Cavallaro with 6 kills and 2 aces. Kailey Moll contributed 5 kills and 3 blocks.
Senior Kaylee Sommers led the defensive effort for the Chargers with 8 digs.
“Our serving was atrocious,” said Dundee-Crown coach Christine Hopkins-Muehl. “We just couldn’t get our serves in on a consistent basis. Our passing and serve receive was pretty good, but our serves killed us.”