Girls volleyball: Scouting the Fox Valley area

A standard question when writing previews for upcoming high school sports is to ask coaches what their team's record was the season before.

St. Charles East's Jennie Kull had a clever reply.

"What season? I really do not remember much," Kull said.

That certainly summed up the feelings of many with the IHSA moving the girls volleyball season from the fall of 2020 to a short sprint in March and April. Not only did the teams not have nearly as many matches or a postseason, several lost more games due to COVID protocols while almost every program had girls conflicted about playing high school or club volleyball - or trying to juggle both.

Needless to say, it's good to have high school volleyball back in the fall. Even if things aren't completely normal yet.

Kull has a solid core returning: junior libero Lia Schneider, junior outside Kate Goudreau, senior middles Kendra Dziubinski and Isabella Mosquera, junior setter/outside Julia Ferrandino, senior middle Olivia Denny, junior outside Alexis Crossen and senior defensive specialist Taylor Swanson. Two sophomores, setter Sarah Musial and DS Maya Lopez, also will play.

"We are young and inexperienced in key spots," said Kull who lists St. Charles North, Wheaton Warrenville South, Batavia and Geneva as teams to watch.

Geneva is the defending DuKane Conference champion after going 15-1 in the spring. Senior outside Madi Danielson and junior outside Lauren Benson return for new coach Lauren Kosecki, herself one of the best ever to play at Geneva before going on to an All-American college career at Northern Illinois and Michigan State.

"Geneva volleyball has a brand new team this year after graduating several key seniors," Kosecki said. "We are extremely young and we are looking forward to the process of competing at the varsity level. The process has already started with hard work, trust, and tradition."

McKenna Kelsay begins her second year at Batavia after a 7-7 season that included their first win over St. Charles East in 10 years.

"We played some really great matches, most going to 3 sets, against the best teams in the conference," said Kelsay, whose team also won the ZONI Sportsmanship Award.

Senior outside Kyra Taylor, junior setter/right side Amanda Otten and junior outside Alyson Rupert are back.

"I'm really excited for this group with a nice mix of juniors and seniors," Kelsay said. "We have some juniors who will be playing in their first year on varsity but will be bringing a lot of talent and we have some great senior leadership. We will have a lot of depth in each position and look to bring a powerful offense and some scrappy defense to each match."

Kelsay named St. Charles East, Wheaton Warrenville South and St. Charles North as teams to watch in the DuKane.

St. Charles North (14-7) returns junior setter Jessica Parker, senior middle Riley Moreno, senior middle Marissa Guajardo, senior outside Mia Dela Merced, junior DS Karlie Custer and sophomore outside Katie Scherer.

"We graduated a few key players last year, but we were also very young last year as well," coach Lindsay Hawkins said. "So with a little more experience and being another year older, those returners are really looking strong."

Scherer spent the summer in Anaheim training with the National Youth Olympic Development Team.

"We are looking for her to really help our team this year, regardless of how young she is," Hawkins said.

"Jessica will be leading our team at the setter's position and she is looking fantastic, so we are really excited about her and how much she has grown. Both middles have been playing for us all four years, so their experience should be a key factor in our success as well."

Streamwood (5-8) finished fifth in the Upstate Eight last year and returns two middles, Bella Archulita and Marisa Hauserman. Junior outside Leah Delgado also is back.

"Our team is excited and ready to go, with great senior leadership," coach Shelly Mueller said. "We will be a competitive team in conference this year and really going to challenge our opponents."

After a 28-8, conference-winning season in 2019, South Elgin went 6-7 last year. Junior outside Alyssa Worden. who had 315 kills and 54 aces as a freshman, returns after not playing high school volleyball last year.

Senior libero Maggie Mcgough and senior middle Loreal Wilson are both 3-year varsity starters.

"This team knows what it takes to play competitive volleyball," coach Joni Plach said. "Even though the girls were happy to play last year it was such a short season. This season they are ready to play a full season with tournaments."

Huntley coach Karen Naymola had a similar thought about 2020, a season the Red Raiders battled COVID and injuries.

Junior setter Maggie Duyos, junior outsides Ally Panzloff and Avary Deblieck, junior libero Luma Acevedo, senior outside Lauren Bauer and sophomore outside Lizzy Williams should lead the way.

"I expect us to compete for a conference championship," Naymola said. "We return a lot of last year's starters and they are a very talented group. Many of them are being heavily recruited and this will be an exciting year for all of us."

Crystal Lake South won four of its last five matches to finish 7-6 and take second in the Fox Valley tournament.

Only outside Sam Wesoly graduated from those starters; the Gators bring back Ashley Ciezadlo (Sr., OH), Grace Georges (Sr., DS), Morgan Jones (So., OH), Megan Langdon (Sr., MH), Jessie Proszenyak (Sr., OH), Mia Regillio (Sr., MH), Emma Stowasser (Jr., S), Gabby Wire (So., OH) and Alyssa Zagroba (Sr., DS).

"We hope to compete for a top spot in our conference," 14th-year coach Jorie Fontana said. "We know that is a difficult task with such amazing teams right here in the Fox Valley but these girls are excited for the challenge. They work extremely well together."

Burlington Central returns six of its top seven after going 9-5 in the spring, 6-3 in the FVC. Coach Sam Mainzer said their motto is "We aren't done yet."

Outside hitters Rylie Hahn and Addy Nava return as do setters Ashley Arceo and Rachel Stoneman. Senior libero Abby Devol is back along with starting middle Rachel Burton.

Two freshmen with height, outside Leah Freesemann and middle Addison Krieger, join the Rockets along with outside Brooke Hoffman, a transfer from Schaumburg Christian.

"We do have a competitive lineup in the works this season," Mainzer said. "We have a large team (19 players) compared to years past and the varsity lineup will be the most competitive it has been in awhile. We want to be competitive and we know that every team in this conference is good."

Jacobs (5-4) finished third in the FVC last season.

Senior setter Rachel Kaczorowski returns, as does senior OH Ireland Van Stone, senior libero Meredith Giustino and senior MH Jaclyn Poirier.

"We have a lot of returning players from last year and are excited about the team chemistry and building off last year," coach Mike Depa said. "We expect to compete for the top of the conference this year."

After 11 years as the JV coach at Dundee-Crown, Tiffany Dumas took over the program as the head coach last spring. She will have a veteran group this fall led by senior OH Makena Wesol, the team's MVP last season and a tremendous leader, according to Dumas.

Senior Tealyn Kamp will play right side, and sophomore Audrey Prusko returns in the middle after leading the team in blocks.

Dumas called senior libero Emily Valencia a leader in the back row. Others to watch include junior OH Rachael Piluski, junior setter Kylie Hanson, seniors Olivia Beeks and Tiana Browni in the front row and senior DS Jayleen Cordero.

Kaneland is coming off an excellent spring at 15-1 and returns much of its lineup.

Maddy Buckley is a 6-foot-2 senior outside committed to Ball State. She won team MVP last year.

Senior setter Meghan O'Sullivan is committed to Grand Valley State. Outside Bella Ring and setter/right side Mia Kane also are back along with senior libero Mackenzie Ewen, a transfer.

"We are looking to lead the conference again this year with returning a majority of our players from last spring," coach Cyndi Violett said. "I'm anticipating that we'll make a run for the regional championship with the hope to make it to state."

West Aurora (10-6) finished fifth out of 12 teams in conference last year.

Coach Kevin Mortlock has four players back: senior setter Mielye Hardersen, senior libero Izabel Valadez, senior outside Jazmyn Seraphin and junior middle Kaitlyn Alshire.

Newcomers include freshman outside/right side Maureen Pokryfke and sophomore DS Brooke Wisniewski.

"Our players have been working very hard both on and off the court to get ready for our season," Mortolock said. "West Aurora has a strong mix of returning varsity players and newcomers."

Dawn Gross is starting her second year at St. Edward coming off a 6-10 season. Senior Brooke Biggins is back to set and play right side.

"(Brooke) will lead this team to many wins with her advanced fast sets and soft setter hands," Gross said. "She gives 110% and is the captain. She drives the team to be their best."

St. Edward also returns senior middle Maddie Pogorzelski, one of the top-ranked blockers in the state, senior outside Kailey Treiber, senior outside/DS Francesca Ventimiglia - the team's best defensive player last year - senior libero Kate Draftz, senior middle Delaney Nolan and senior setter Kim Aguirre.

Gross also has some key newcomers starting with sophomore Emma Pedres, a lefty setter and right side, sophomore setter Caitlyn Madsen and sophomore outside Taryn Lemezis.

"This season we have a lot of seniors and we just need to figure out the lineup that works well," Gross said. "I am confident we have the talent and the winning attitude to do very well this season. I believe we will surprise some of the tough schools in our conference."

Senior setter Taylor Riddiford, senior pin hitter Caitlin Collins, senior middle Hope Wehrli and junior pin Jessica Hirner are back at Rosary after an 8-8 season. Coach Franky Martinez said senior outside Kylie Loquercio, who was unable to play in the spring, can make a " huge splash."

"We are looking to make a significant jump this upcoming season," Martinez said. "I do expect us to make a strong push into the top three of conference this upcoming season but it will be a dogfight as IC Catholic Prep, Chicago Christian and St. Francis will be very difficult."

Mayra Johnson is the new coach at Aurora Christian. She was at the middle school the past two years and helped the program grow from 15 to 31 players.

Senior libero Kylia Waltmire and junior outside Hannah Hockensmith are back while the newcomers include sophomore middle Jada Haymon and freshman outside/DS Madalynn Johnson.

"The last three years I have been a club coach and am excited to bring a new love of the game to these young ladies, especially after watching this summer's Olympics," coach Johnson said. "There is great talent in these girls. We will work hard in bringing that out and having a great season."