Giammarino, Willowbrook serve up triumph over Elgin

Willowbrook junior Micala Giammarino said she never served that many consecutive points before Thursday night.

She picked the right time, however, to outdo herself as her serve and the Warriors’ offense scored 11 unanswered points in Game 2 of their nonconference home match against Elgin. That effort led to a 25-6 win in Game 2 and a two-game victory over the Maroons. Willowbrook won the opener 25-20.

“You feel the energy and work as a team. We feed off of each other,” Giammarino said of the scoring run.

Game 2 was tied 3-3 when Giammarino began serving. Jamie Chiappetta hit for 3 of her 6 kills on the night. Danielle McNamara led the Warriors (10-7) with 8 kills overall, and two came on the run with Mia Railing and Michelle Herz each smashing one.

Elgin’s Abby Pierre-Louis put everything she had into a kill that finally stopped Willowbrook’s run, but by then the Warriors led 14-4. The victors didn’t let up, scoring 11 of the next 13 points.

Willowbrook coach Sue Bower was very pleased with how Game 2 transpired and would like to see more of that type of play from her team.

“The second game is how we can play. We are a young team and are tying to get it all together,” she said. “I was very pleased with our serving in Game 2. It helped us get into our rhythm and pattern.”

The Maroons (7-13-1) controlled the early portion of Game 1, jumping out to a 3-0 lead that included an ace by Tiana Palumbo.

Elgin coach Scott Stewart praised the junior JV setter, who found out she was in Thursday night’s lineup during school. She finished with 6 assists.

A kill by Nikki Zimmer put the Maroons up 6-1. Later, with Willowbrook’s Cheyenne Brunig serving, the Warriors scored three straight points to take a 13-10 and later went up 18-13 with the help of an ace by Railing, two kills by Maggie McNamara and one by Herz. The Warriors kept control the rest of the opening game.

Life has been good of late for Elgin, which has surpassed last season’s two-win total, and which went into this week having won the Westminster Christian Tournament last weekend. It was the Maroons’ first tournament championship since 1995, according to Stewart.

“We can play great with anyone, but then another time we are unfocused. But we’ll keep fighting. This is a great group of kids,” Stewart said.