Naperville North serves fluster Lake Park

Putting your serves exactly where you want them is a great weapon in volleyball, one that Naperville North showed off in the second game of Tuesday's DuPage Valley Conference match with Lake Park.

The host Huskies never seemed too comfortable in the opener while clinging to a 21-20 lead. But after pulling the first set out 25-20, Naperville North had everything clicking in a 25-8 triumph to complete the sweep, especially a number of nasty serves that rattled the Lancers.

"We sided out very well in the first game, but we just couldn't put any runs together from behind the service line," Huskies coach Jen Urban said after her team improved to 15-5 overall and 3-0 in the DVC. "It was nice to see us make that adjustment in the second game."

As a team, everyone on the Huskies' side of the net picked up their game in the second set, but it was the serving of senior setter Jennifer Dore that made the biggest impact. She rattled off a pair of aces as the hosts turned a 4-1 lead into an 8-1 advantage. Later she closed the match with seven straight service points, including three straight aces. She baffled Lake Park with a variety of serves deep in the corner, while mixing in some floaters that kept the Lancers off guard.

"My club coach calls it yo-yoing," Dore said describing her serves. "You throw a couple deep and then you throw one short. Then they're so psyched you might go short again and then you throw one deep. So you just kind of play with that a little bit."

With the Huskies serving better and cutting down on their errors, the second set win came much easier than Tuesday's opener.

"I just think that we eliminated our own errors," Naperville North senior libero Emily Bushman said. "We had some missed serves and we were in the net a lot. That takes away 5-6 points right there. I just think we played a cleaner second set, and we also served a lot more aggressively in the second set. Jennifer was on fire."

While veterans like Dore and Bushman are hoping to guide the Huskies to a third straight conference crown this fall, the team also features several key underclassmen. Sophomore outside Ariana Budnik led the way with 9 kills against the Lancers and freshman Sarah Kushner added 6.

"In terms of composure, especially for having such a young team, I think we're doing a great job," said Bushman, an Iowa commit. "We have really good team chemistry, so the trust is there and that helps."

For the Lancers, Allison Karpinski, Caroline Gibbons and Jennifer Livesay each had 3 kills, while Sarah Battersby recorded 11 assists. But it was a letdown in serve receive and overall passing that kept Lake Park (11-14, 0-2) from standing much of a chance in the nightcap.

"We pass ourselves into holes," Lake Park coach Tom Bergen said. "Their serves…they put the ball on people who had trouble. They controlled it.

"It's hard when you start letting teams get on a roll like that. Like I said, (Huskies) did well, but we didn't make it very hard on them."