Girls water polo: Metea Valley building toward the postseason

So far, Metea Valley coach Wyatt Jansen believes his team, ranked in the top 25 in a poll, is a work in progress.

"I think our performance and potential will not be on display until sectionals," he said.

Metea Valley's girls water polo home match Thursday night against Prospect was canceled due to the Knights not being able to field a complete varsity team due to a scheduling conflict with another event at the school.

Two JV contests took place.

It was the last chance at competition for the 5-5 Mustangs before spring break. The team resumes play April 2 at Naperville North.

The Mustangs returned just one starter from last season's sectional semifinal squad.

"We graduated so many from last year. It was a special team for so many years," Jansen said.

That one returning starter, senior Rylee Stone, will join the team soon upon the completion of her club swimming commitments.

The newest members of the Metea varsity squad have had to adapt to varsity-level play, which Jansen said is different.

"They had a lot of success at the JV level with their swimming. But at the varsity level, you cannot beat a team as much with speed," Jansen said.

He has been pleased with the progress shown by junior Lucy Siwicki and goalkeeper Aimee Patterson.

"Aimee has put in a lot of work and has gotten to the point where she is blocking really, really well. She is one of the best goalies I have coached as a junior," Jansen said.

Defensively, junior Lanie Patterson has been crucial to the Mustangs' lineup.

When the team returns from spring break, the Metea coach said the team will continue to work on something that has been crucial to the team so far.

"We'll hit conditioning. It's been one of our strong suits, lasting with teams until the end," he said.

Jansen said what's also helping the team is its drive.

"Maybe they feel the pressure of past teams and want to rise to that level. Whether it's this year or next, they are on their way," he said.