Girls volleyball: Rivalry matchup goes in favor of Stevenson

There is plenty of recent history here.

Two years ago, Stevenson ended Carmel's girls volleyball season. Last year, the results went the other way.

And no one has forgotten.

Wednesday night's meeting in Lincolnshire meant very little, except perhaps bragging rights. Neither coach, Dave Pazely nor Tim Crow, felt his team played great. However, it's still very early in the season.

Northern Illinois-committed junior Jori Radtke had 10 kills as the Patriots moved to 2-0 with a 25-20, 25-21 win over the Corsairs (1-1).

"All together, we played well,'' Radtke said. "We are getting better."

Senior Corissa Kurth (21 assists) echoed those thoughts.

"We don't want to peak too early,'' Kurth said. "But our team is improving."

Yes, Carmel helped the Stevenson cause with 10 serving errors.

"Stevenson is a solid team,'' Pazely said. "We like going against them because they are good competition. But we made too many errors and made too many mistakes."

Despite the troubles, Carmel stayed with the Pats in both sets. On a serving ace from Maegan O'Toole, the Corsairs had pulled within 13-11 in the first set.

"I told the girls to forget the scoreboard and show some spirit out there,'' Pazely said.

The first set remained close as Carmel's Allie Wayland and Elizabeth Tworek both registered kills.

Radtke notched a kill and another Carmel error ended set one in Stevenson's favor.

"We need to be more consistent with our offense,'' said Stevenson coach Tim Crow. "But with a veteran team like this, the bar is set high. I expect a lot more out of this team."

Again, in the second set, the home team surged ahead. Radtke's kill added to a block kill from Zoe Graflund gave the Pats a quick 3-0 lead.

Carmel never led in either set but forged a tie in the second set on a Grace Butler block.

"Butler was a challenge for us,'' Kurth noted.

With libero Chloe Robinson serving, both Kurth and Radtke registered kills as Stevenson opened up some breathing room. Isabella Milejczyk notched a kill, giving the Pats a 20-16 lead.

Pazely got his wish for some team spirit near the end of set two. At the brink of elimination, Carmel didn't fade away. Tworek and Cate Halvorson had back-to-back kills as the Carmel crowd grew more optimistic. However, another one of those Stevenson seniors, Jordyn Taborek, came through with a kill in helping the Pats to a two-set win.

Stevenson libero Morgan Berland had 12 digs. Radtke checked in with 11 digs.

Tworek led a balanced attack for Carmel with 5 kills. Butler had 4 kills and Wayland added 3 kills.