Girls volleyball: St. Viator battles past Wheeling
The idea for Wednesday night's 'Volley For a Cure' match at St. Viator was developed several months ago.
"I'm glad Charlie (Curtin, St. Viator girls volleyball coach) talked to me last school year about doing this," said Wheeling coach Jason Kopkowski. "He has done it before here. We have it done it before at our school. But we've never done it together. This was a whole new experience."
With everyone decked out in pink for breast cancer awareness (even the color of the girls' hair for St. Viator was pink), the two teams gave the big turnout quite an experience in the Cahill Gymnasium with raffles, posters, T-shirts and exciting volleyball.
The match went the distance before the Lions led start to finish in the third set to record an 18-25, 25-12, 25-19 nonconference triumph in Arlington Heights.
"It was great to have a lot of energy, especially on this night," said Lions senior Carrie Leazer, who provided her usual energy with standout diving digs, 8 kills, 2 aces and even an assist. "We did a lot of setting up for this night. We had lots of parents' help. We sold T-shirts and stuff like that."
"It's always nice to win at home and this is really exciting for us because this is one of our favorite events of the season," said senior Kate Nottoli, who put down a match-high 13 kills. "It's a tradition we have here and we really love it."
Trying to spoil the Lions' home match, Wheeling (10-11) surged to a 17-10 lead in Set 1 behind 5 straight service points, including 2 aces, from senior Nicole Nguyen.
The Wildcats never relinquished the advantage and put it away the set with the last 2 points coming on a crosscourt kill by Ellie Welter and another ace by Nguyen.
The visitors kept the pressure on early in Set 2, grabbing a 4-2 lead before Viator (11-11) began to flourish.
Sophomore Danielle Panzeca rolled off 4 straight service points to give Viator a 6-4 advantage.
Moments later, senior Sarah Melone was a game changer with her string of 6 straight service points, including 3 aces for a 13-5.
The lead continued to expand and the set ended at 25-12 after Nottoli put down a quick set from junior Erin Aldana (37 assists, 11 digs) and then leapt for the set-ending block.
A block by Leazer gave the Lions a 10-5 lead in Set 3.
The lead was 14-8 when Wheeling senior Rugile Jaciunas took center stage.
The 5-11 middle sparked a 5-point run, registering 3 of the points with blocks. The other 2 were a block from Kamila Staniszewski and a kill by setter Grace Zambrano (18 assists).
"She (Jaciunas) had an incredible block," Nottoli said. "Props to her. She really gave us a run for our money. She really made us readjust our swings and go for some tips."
Sophomore Ella Kull's tip kill gave Viator an 18-14 lead and it became a 20-15 lead on a service point from Panzeca.
The Wildcats never got closer than 4, and Viator wrapped up the match with a pair of service points from Aldana, including an ace.
"Rugile gave us that huge spark there in the third set," Kopkowski said. "In our post-match meeting, we highlighted the fact that she was the leader in terms of our coming back and execution and play.
"Unfortunately, she is only in the front row for so long and the game isn't going to allow her block every ball. The hitters are too advanced at this level. She did what she could but then what has to happen around her is for her teammates to do their part."
Staniszewski led Wheeling with 6 kills followed by Welter (5), Nosa Igiehon (4) and Nguyen (3), who also led the team with 20 digs and 3 aces.
Junior Vicky Gorny added 9 kills, 10 digs and 2 blocks for the Lions while Lilly LaFleur and Kull each had 3 kills.
Senior Taylor Pfaller contributed 9 digs for Viator.
"They they had a strong middle," Leazer said. "So we had to adjust our shots."
"We tried to go around her (Jaciunas)," Curtin said. "Wheeling came out ready to play. Jason has a good team and they were determined.
"It was a great evening. It was a huge crowd and hopefully we raised lots of money for a great cause. Overall a great night and it was icing on the cake to get a win there."
"This was a fun night," Kopkowski added. "Charlie took the lead with it. He has great parent volunteers and they contacted our parent volunteers. I anticipate that we're going to be able to hand over thousands of dollars to breast cancer research. So it was a great night."