Girls volleyball: Trippi-Payne steps down after 33 years coaching Batavia
Batavia's season came to an end Tuesday with a 25-11, 25-10 loss to Waubonsie Valley in the Class 4A Waubonsie Valley regional, the final game in the long career of Batavia coach Lori Trippi-Payne.
In her 33 seasons as Batavia's varsity coach, Trippi-Payne's teams won 592 games. They finished 12-25 this season.
Trippi-Payne is retiring from teaching and coaching at Batavia where she has worked the last 34 years.
“I have been blessed to be able to represent this school and school district as well as being able to work with so many great players both on and off the court, including this year's group,” Trippi-Payne said. “It's been a great run.”
In Tuesday's loss, Alexis Whelpley led Batavia with 4 kills and 3 blocks, and Kyra Taylor had 3 kills, 2 blocks and 7 digs.
“Waubonsie Valley played almost flawlessly tonight,” Trippi-Payne said. “Waubonsie Valley played so well both offensively and defensively that we did not have a chance to get anything going.
“One thing about this team — they fought hard in every match they played, and finished with two nice wins at home last week for their last conference match and then their senior night.”
Harvest Christian d. Marian Central 19-25, 25-10, 25-15: Top-seeded Harvest Christian (25-10) was stunned by 7th-seeded Marian Central in the first set, but came back strong to win the second and third sets to advance to the 2A regional final at Marian Central on Thursday.
Hayley Martin had 17 kills, 4 aces, 4 digs and 2 blocks for the Lions, Madison Pfister finished with 6 kills, 4 aces, 13 digs and 3 blocks, Maya Jenkins had 14 kills, 14 digs and 2 blocks, and Dana Mestey added 6 aces, 36 assists and 5 digs. Harvest Christian will play St. Edward, a 25-15, 25-21 winner over Johnsburg, for the regional title.
Prairie Ridge d. Burlington Central 25-13, 25-18: The Rockets (14-21) finished out their season with a loss to Fox Valley Conference foe Prairie Ridge on Tuesday night at the Clas 3A Wauconda regional. Leading Burlington Central was Addy Nava with 4 aces, 5 kills and 6 digs, Rachel Stoneman with 6 assists, and Eysha Salwan with 6 assists and 4 digs. PR will play Kaneland (28-8) for the title.
South Elgin d. Harlem 25-12, 25-15: The Storm improved to a school-record 28-7 with a win over Harlem, surpassing their 27 wins from last season. Alyssa Worden and Angelina Negron led the offense with 10 kills and 8 kills, respectively. Worden also added 11 digs and Allison Cunniffe finished with 25 assists. The Storm will play for the Larkin regional championship against Hononegah on Thursday.
CL South d. Lakes 25-16, 27-25: The Gators (20-15) will face host Crystal Lake Central on Thursday for the regional championship. Kelly Carlson had 6 digs and 4 aces for CL South, Jenna Rhoades added 13 assists and 3 blocks, and Samantha Wesoly finished with 6 kills.
Guilford d. Dundee-Crown 28-30, 25-20, 25-15: After a very strong first set battle, Guilford came back with just enough to take the final two sets and end the Chargers' season. Leading Dundee-Crown (12-23) were Makena Wesol with 13 kills, Natalia Smiech with 10 kills and 5 digs, and Jenna Brown with 29 assists and 6 digs.