Metea Valley comes together, defeats Waubonsie Valley
A bad injury last week took away one of Metea Valley's top players and a co-captain, but fortunately for the Mustangs, fellow co-captain Alexis Bass is still around.
Bass stepped up big on Thursday when the Mustangs swept rival Waubonsie Valley 25-12, 25-19 in front of a large "Dig Pink" breast cancer awareness crowd at Metea Valley.
On Oct. 1 the Mustangs (16-15, 2-3) suffered a big blow when senior outside Natalie Krasuski was lost for the season with a severe knee injury. The team struggled with a new lineup in Tuesday's loss to Wheaton North, but an inspired effort Thursday powered the hosts past Waubonsie Valley, which had swept Metea Valley earlier this year in tournament play.
"We had so much momentum going in and so much motivation, because we got beat at the Warrior Blast where we just came out flat," said Bass, who had a match-high 9 kills in Thursday's DuPage Valley Conference triumph. "That was not our team."
With Bass and a vocal crowd inspiring the Mustangs, Thursday was a reversal of the last match between these two, which Waubonsie win in two games.
"It was really important to us that we just stood together. And we had so much energy on the court because positivity controls the game the most and we knew that would have a big influence on us tonight. It was a really great win as a family."
Mustangs coach Dave MacDonald admitted that positive vibes were hard to come by when Krasuski was first injured.
"To lose her it's emotional for us as a coaching staff and for the team," he said. "We kind of showed it against Wheaton North on Tuesday; we were all kind of out of sorts. But we all rallied together."
While Metea was regrouping with a new lineup, yet jumping ahead 17-4 in the opener and then 12-5 in the second set, the Warriors took a step back. Coach Kristen Didier's team was sharp in beating Naperville Central on Tuesday, but never really got on track against the Mustangs.
"We really struggled in serve receive today and just in every area. That was not the team I know and typically see everyday," Didier said. "I thought Metea played really well and they were pumped up. They were definitely ready to play today and we did not play our best match."
A solid Mustangs defense featured 8 digs from Claire Rothenberger and 5 from Mikaila Dowd. For the Warriors, Taylor Dunwell had 5 kills and Lauren Howard, Brooke Burling and Briana Webb each had 3 kills.
Bass hopes the strong effort will power Metea to a strong finish this year.
"We needed this, but I want make sure our team stays composed. We're not satisfied yet," she said. "We want that regional title again … we've come so close every year (during my tenure). It's really important to us that we succeed and get that title again."