Girls volleyball: Larkin takes rivalry match over Elgin
The River Rivalry Match between Elgin and Larkin Tuesday was definitely flowing in the Royals' direction early in the contest Tuesday with Larkin winning the first set, 25-9.
The Maroons then stirred up some turbulence in the second set and led at one point, 17-15.
That's when Kaitlin Turner took the helm and steered Larkin to 25-18 victory to win the match, tally its first Upstate Eight Conference win and keeping bragging rights on the Royals' side of the Fox River.
The junior stepped to the service line for a nine-point run that put Larkin ahead, 23-17. Turner started the string scoring one of her four aces.
The Royals tied the set, 17-17, on another Turner ace and back-to-back strikes by Amarie Gray and Ashley Miller (4 kills, 4 digs, 2 aces) gave the Royals some breathing room.
The run ended with a kill by Elgin's Haley Wahl. The senior had a game-high 7 kills and an ace.
The Royals capitalized on Elgin hitting and serving errors to seal the match.
“Turner stood out with the serves. That was a big thing,” said Larkin coach Mattie Boyd. “We were struggling with putting the ball in court and serving and she came in and went on a big run for us. That was really important.”
“I was making sure that I wasn't worrying so much about the zones.” Turner said. “I was just making sure that I got them in. I was avoiding serving to the libero.”
A Boyd timeout called before Turner's run also help right the Royals' ship.
“I told them that they needed to calm down. I think it was 16-12 at that point. I said it was only four points,” said Boyd. “We still need to get to 25. We just need to relax, play our game, put the ball in the court and let them make the errors on their side.”
Elgin (0-17, 0-4) started out strong in the second set, tying Larkin (4-12, 1-3) at 4-4. The Maroons' widest margin was 13-8.
“Coming into the second set, they came out like they wanted to win,” Elgin coach Amy Zapata said. “Haley stepped up and got some huge hits and points for us. We then went into a slump. (Turner) came out and had some great serves and we just could not get around it.”
It's new rivalry for both first-year coaches.
“It's my first year at Larkin and so far we are 2-0 against Elgin so I'll take that,” Boyd said. “It was also our first conference win so it's a big deal for us.”
The squads faced each other in a tournament earlier in the month.
“Larkin has the edge this time but we are going to play them in another game,” Zapata said “We are going to fight hard and come back for the last one.”
Janelle Clements led the Larkin attack with 5 kills. Turner was credited with 11 assists while teammate Nilah Gonzalez notched 12. Lilah Hanson assisted the Royal defense with 6 digs.
Kimberly Aguirre tallied 10 assists for the Maroons.