Girls volleyball: Geneva tops Tigers, clinches share of DuKane title
Devynn Day and the Geneva Vikings knew they needed to take command of their own court.
The Vikings were seconds from the losing the first set against Wheaton Warrenville South on Wednesday with numerous unforced errors.
"We had a lot of errors, so we knew that it was us that we needed to control," Day said following Geneva's spirited 16-25, 25-22, 25-13 over the Tigers in a matchup of DuKane Conference leaders. "[Geneva coach Annie] Seitelman was like: 'It's your game right now. If we control our side, then they can't stop us.'"
"We knew that, so that's kind of what was said in the huddle," added Day, who had 10 kills and eight digs. "She was like 'We're not going to lose this match. We're not going to let that happen.'"
Both teams entered Wednesday with one conference loss. While Geneva (14-1, 12-1) has a match against Lake Park and the Tigers (16-4, 11-2) versus Glenbard North on Thursday, the Vikings now control their own destiny for a conference title. Wednesday's game was a makeup from an original postponement back on April 6.
Geneva has won 13 consecutive match dating back to its only loss to WW South the second match of the season. The Vikings only had three varsity experienced returners from 2019 coming back - Anna Loberg, Leah Davine and Day.
"Right now, we're 14-1. We kind of set our mark," Day said. "We went through, I think we're [13] straight wins now. That's kind of special to us. I don't think ever done that ... it was hard. Spring season, we all just kind of had to drop what we were doing and then just come and play."
"That first set was not us," Seitelman said. "We just made a lot of errors. Credit to [The Tigers], they served aggressively. They kept us out of system. But, then, you kind of saw us flip that switch. That second set, that's the kind of style we've been playing lately. Our blocking, I would say in the last four or five matches, has just been solid."
Geneva jumped out to a 15-10 advantage in the second set, but the Tigers eventually closed the gap to 20-18, largely on the hand of senior outside hitter Lizzie Chiesa and setter Rebecca Bellows and their five combined kills. Day and Madilyn Danielson socked ensuing kills for the Vikings, but Chiesa and a Geneva attack error brought the Vikings' lead to 22-20.
WW South had a service error and Lauren Benson had an ace for set point, but Bellows had two more put downs before the Vikings prevailed.
In the third set, the Vikings jumped out to a 13-10 advantage and ripped off a 6-0 run. The Vikings, anchored by Day and Davine, largely took care of the rest for the convincing 25-13 victory.
"[The] second and third sets, we made a lot of unforced errors," WW South coach Bill Schreier said. "Not to downplay anything, but we took ourselves out of the game. Missed serves at inopportune times, was able to match them play per play. Then, we go back, make an unforced error. It's going to happen, the unfortunate nature of the game."
Chiesa had 12 kills to lead the Tigers.
"They've been troopers. That's one of the things I said to them," Schreier said. "They were able to make it through everything. A lot of programs were in adaptive pauses. We were able to play through. This was obviously a reschedule because we had one of those issues but other than that, we were able to go ahead and make through it. They are definitely a great group to work with. They've given it their all. That's what we asked for in the fall."
With one final match on the horizon, an unprecedented season that brought plenty of twists and turns for several area teams will draw to a close.
"With COVID and everything, we're really determined to get the most out of what we can. It's been really good. And, the way we've been winning, it feels great," Davine said.
"These kids just have played so well together and they know their roles," Seitelman said. "Everyone kind of does their part. It's a true team effort and that's when we're at our best."