Girls volleyball: Kaneland overcomes Morris
Kaneland proved that one individual was no match for its well-rounded team in Tuesday night's home Northern Illinois Big 12 East girls volleyball matchup against Morris.
Although Morris standout senior outside hitter Kaylin Korte racked up a match-high 14 kills, the Knights forced her into numerous errors and limited the rest of the team to just 4 kills.
Meanwhile, the Knights unleashed a balanced attack, paced by 10 kills from freshman Katelyn Jablonski and 5 kills each from juniors Jessica Weber and Chloe Filipski to record a convincing 25-18, 25-18 victory.
"Korte is really good, but she's only one player," said Kaneland coach Cynthia Violett. "You need six players to play and when she was in the back row we took advantage as much as possible and served to her when we could to take her out of the system."
"We definitely worked on blocking a lot in practice and if she hit line or cross we'd change our block to work with that," said Kaneland junior setter Hannah Nauert, who delivered 10 assists and sparked a Game 2 comeback with an 8-point service run.
After a lethargic effort in a 3-game road loss to Sycamore last week, Kaneland (13-7, 2-1) made it a point to come out with energy in front of a boisterous home crowd.
"They had the momentum tonight and they were ready to play," Violett said. "Unlike Sycamore last week when they came out flat. It was a totally different team."
"We had a lot more energy and a lot more fun this match. I think our rowdies helped," Jablonski said.
Morris (6-10, 1-1) played even through the first half of the first game, but the Knights seized control when Jablonski landed a kill, then teamed with Alexandria Anderson to block Korte for an 18-14 lead.
Another Jablonski kill and service ace, followed by a well-placed tip from Anderson pushed the lead to 21-16. Filipski and Weber added kills to help close out the game.
"I think it's really important for us to switch up our hitters and it was really nice knowing all my teammates were on and I could set anyone and they could put it down," Nauert said.
Morris took a quick 7-2 lead in the second game as Korte hammered 4 kills, but the Knights quickly regrouped with the next 3 points.
"That's mental focus for them. They're able to shake off the bad stuff and play the next ball," Violett said.
With Korte stuck in the back row, the Knights utilized airtight defense and timely hitting on Nauert's serve to seize a 13-8 lead they would never relinquish.
"I kept thinking keep things on a run and keep fighting for my team and we're going to push and get this game back," Nauert said.
Hollie Fedderly contributed 9 assists for Kaneland while Annmarie Franz added 2 kills and a solo block.