Girls volleyball: Powerful Newark downs Aurora Christian
SERENA - Aurora Christian found out for the second time this volleyball season that Newark sophomore Madi Malone may be the best underclassmen in the state - regardless of class.
At the Serena Class 1A girls sectional final Wednesday evening, Malone was unstoppable in leading the powerful Norsemen to a straight-sets 25-16, 25-14 victory.
"She's very young and very good," Aurora Christian senior leader Kaitlyn Beebe said after Malone dominated play with match highs of 13 kills and 18 digs. "We tried to put a block on her, but she was able to get around our block pretty easily. She is a great athlete."
Newark, fourth in state last fall, improved to 37-2 in ending the Eagles' season at 25-9.
The Norsemen have lost only to Class 2A powers Pleasant Plains and Champaign Thomas More; the latter defeated Aurora Christian last fall at the Seneca supersectional en route to the state championship.
Aurora Christian enjoyed its only leads of the match with single-point advantages three times in the first 5 points of the opening set.
Malone exerted her influence early as the sophomore outside had a vicious kill to culminate a 15-7 run for a 17-10 lead in the first set.
Complemented ably by 5-foot-11 freshman outside Megan Williams (5 kills), Malone and her teammates prevented Aurora Christian from gaining any traction behind setter Olivia Nelson orchestrating the Norsemen offense with a match-high 28 kills.
"I think we played our hearts out," said Aurora Christian outside Justine Czerwinski, who, like Beebe, played her final match for the Eagles.
"The first time we played them it was all on us," Beebe said of the Eagles' loss to Newark at the close of the regular season. "We watched a ton of film. They came out and played a little stronger."
Malone ended the first set with a kill.
"I think Olivia putting up those sets really helped me," Malone said. "We knew they were going to come out with a lot of adrenaline. Our passing was really on point."
Aurora Christian could forge but a pair of ties in the second set.
The Eagles had moments after Newark stretched its second-set lead to double-digits as Beebe and Lily Karl, who had a team-best 5 kills, collaborated brilliantly.
The Eagles would never come closer than 8 points in the second set once Newark scored 15 of the first 20 points of the second game.
Newark wrapped up its second straight sectional championship on an Aurora Christian hitting error.
Grace Henderson and Lily Pierce also concluded their Aurora Christian volleyball careers.
"We had to serve aggressively (to have a chance)," Aurora Christian coach Amanda Currens said.