Girls volleyball: Wheaton North keeps momentum going against Naperville North
It's been a super-fun fall so far for Brooke Syswerda and her Wheaton North girls volleyball teammates, and she's looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.
Last Thursday the Falcons recorded its first win over Benet, and on Tuesday night they stayed right on track with a solid 25-22, 25-20 DuPage Valley Conference win over visiting Naperville North.
“It was definitely a momentum builder beating Benet, and we're just going to use that to build our confidence and to continue to come through over the next month or two,” said Syswerda, a senior setter who had 10 assists and 7 digs against the Huskies. “It's been a super-fun season. We have a big group of seniors and it's been fun doing all we have done this season.”
What Wheaton North has accomplished so far is an 18-4 record and a 2-0 start in the DVC with a veteran squad with no holes in its lineup. The Falcons boast plenty of height, a strong block, a balanced attack, great defense and even throw in some nasty serves to top things off.
On Thursday Naperville North (11-7, 0-2) made late charges in each set, but both times the Falcons finished the victories. In the opener it was 24-16 before the Huskies closed to within 24-22 on a kill by Sarah Kushner. Wheaton North finally tallied the winning point and then built a 22-16 advantage in the second set following a block by McKenna Otto.
The visitors made another surge late in Game 2, but kills by Ani Clark and Britta Heggeland allowed the Falcons to complete the sweep.
“They have a really nice team, but I was proud of the way our girls played,” Huskies coach Jennifer Urban said. “We played them much better this time than we did at the Wheaton Classic. So that was good progress to see on our side of the net. They're a very well-rounded team and you can tell they've got a lot of senior leadership on their team and a lot of girls that have been on varsity for multiple years.”
Naperville North libero Rachel Shuty was impressed with both the Falcons' play and her team's tenacity.
“I thought we fought hard,” said Shuty, who had 9 digs. “They did a lot of great things on the other side, but I thought we gave a really good effort and fought hard. I think we're definitely doing some great things, but we know what we need to work on. We're just going to keep on improving form here on out and keep fighting, chipping away.”
Falcons coach Carole Kristensen likes the way this year's team has bonded and responded.
“They're just jelling and it's all the way around,” she said.
“Making adjustments and really adapting to the different teams that we play. It's nice right now that they're not getting rattled. Give credit to Naperville North. Man they were picking. They were picking it up and we had to be ready.”