Girls volleyball: Naperville North bests Batavia
Paige Lauterwasser loves being loud on the court.
Lauterwasser, Naperville North's junior outside hitter, can provide that energy in a variety ways, whether after kills or being an active communicator between volleys.
"I definitely feel like I can be a source of energy," Lauterwasser said following Naperville North's 25-16, 25-18 win over Batavia on Thursday. "I feel like being loud just causes other people to be loud. Volleyball is a communication sport and the more we can communicate and be loud, the more effective we can be on the court."
The collective Huskies team energy was on full display, something preached by Naperville North coach Jennifer Urban.
"I think this is a really high energy team and the bench is also an extension of the girls on the court," Urban said. "I've been really pleased with our amount of energy, passion and competitive fight that we've shown in the early parts of the season."
Lauterwasser led the Huskies with 10 kills while Kara Oxenknecht had five and Liz Rossi had three. Natalie Corcoran had 18 assists and Ashley and Sydney Kushners each had nine digs.
"Paige has been a phenomenal player to watch grow and develop - not only her volleyball skills, but her leadership skills," Urban said. "She's a captain for us this year. She's becoming a tremendous vocal leader. She has very high expectations for herself and her teammates."
"She puts in the work and she is a joy to have," Urban continued.
While perhaps the casual fan or observer has an eye on her thunderous swing for kills, it's her complete game as a six-rotation player for the Huskies (5-2) that could go underrated.
"Her attacking will stand out ... she's one of our primary passers," Urban said. "She puts herself in a really good position defensively. I think her back row is the most impressive that might go unnoticed."
Batavia (7-8) was paced by Kyra Taylor's five kills, while Emily Ramirez had two aces.
"I think we did a fine job passing and did a pretty good job, once we adjusted to their hitters. They were swinging hard, they were great out there," Batavia coach McKenna Kelsay said. "I think we adjusted well and started to dig them. We just had a hard time kind of executing on our side on the kill and getting points."
"I think, again, we fought well; it was back and forth for the most part. They got a couple runs and we needed them. We needed to stop them," Kelsay continued.
Ramirez earned a few "MVP" chants from the Batavia student section.
"I think [she got those] because she got those couple aces [in set one], which was awesome," Kelsay said. "She's going to go in and she's going to do whatever she needs to do. She went in and got a couple aces and a couple digs; they started chanting 'MVP'. Good for her."