Sycamore sweeps Kaneland
It's been a good fall for the Kaneland girls volleyball team, but that thing all coaches look for - peaking for the postseason - isn't quite working the way Knights coach Cynthia Violett hoped.
Sycamore dealt Kaneland a 25-21, 25-22 loss in the Northern Illinois Big XII East action Tuesday night on Volley for the Cure night in Maple Park.
The loss continued a recent trend that concerns the coach.
"Instead of going on the uphill right now we're going on the downhill, which isn't good," Violett said. "We need to decide what we want to do. We can come out here and start playing as a team and play every ball and put the ball down. Or we can play timid. They are looking timid instead of playing with confidence and playing to win."
Sycamore (15-6, 4-3) got off to a good start and didn't look back in either set.
The Spartans, coming off a tough week with hard-fought losses to LaSalle and Morris, took out their frustration on the Knights. Led by Alyssa Feuerbach and Cassie Hunt, who combined for 7 kills in the first set, the Spartans jumped to an early lead and never let Kaneland back in.
Tied just once at 1-1, Sycamore led 15-10 when Violett took her first timeout. Kaneland (15-11, 3-5) got as close as 22-20 when the Spartans hit long.
Sycamore's Feuerbach answered with another kill in the middle. Valerie Hunt served an ace and Hunt ended the set with a kill off Kaneland's block.
"Blocking-wise the girls did amazing," Sycamore coach Jennifer Charles said. "Kudos to Alyssa Feurbach, Heidi Harbecke, Juliet Mathey and Madison (Hunt) and Cassie (Hunt). They did amazing."
Kaneland made 6 attacking errors in the opening set loss and followed with 5 more in the second. Again the Knights played from behind nearly the entire way, tied at 2 and again at 16 but never playing with the lead.
The Knights pulled even at 16 after an 11-6 deficit behind kills from Madison Keifer, Annmarie Franz and Katelyn Jablonski, but again Sycamore took control.
Feuerbach's kill put the Spartans ahead to stay at 17-16, and Sycamore increased its lead behind kills from Hunt and a variety of Kaneland mistakes.
Chloe Filipski's kill brought the Knights within 22-21. Kaneland hit long to make it 23-21, and the Spartans closed out the match when Kaneland passed long at 24-22, and the Spartans slammed the ball home for the final point.
"This was a good win to pick up the morale of the team," Charles said. "I'm proud of the girls."
Franz led Kaneland with 6 kills in what ended up as a frustrating loss.
"We don't have the determination and guts to go for every ball," Violett said. "We're just letting things drop and looking to others to take it for us."