Girls volleyball: Burlington Central tops Cary-Grove
Burlington Central second-year coach Sam Mainzer, a 2011 graduate of Cary-Grove High School, led her Rockets past her high school alma mater 25-21, 25-18 in Fox Valley Conference action in Cary Thursday night.
Mainzer played for current Cary-Grove coach Patty Langanis on the 2009 state championship team and 2010 state runner-up team.
Mainzer's Rockets also defeated the Trojans in the spring.
"It is quite an accomplishment for our team to beat a program like Cary-Grove," Mainzer said. "To be honest, I have taken a lot from Patty and the Cary-Grove program. She is a phenomenal coach and a phenomenal person, She is so passionate about the game."
Addy Nava paced the winning Rockets (6-4, 3-2) with 9 kills, 4 aces and 3 blocks.
"We know our coach is from Cary-Grove and we wanted it for her," said Nava. "We were really ready to play. We know this is a good rivalry. We started fast and our serving was very good."
Rylie Hahn added 9 kills and 3 aces for the winners while Rachel Stoneman contributed 6 kills and 3 aces. Rachel Burton and Brooke Hoffman collected 5 kills each.
The Trojans (2-6, 1-4) played without starters Meg Rothermel, Nicole Novak and Isabelle Strader. Langanis is hoping to have all 3 key contributors back next week.
The short-handed Trojans were paced by Patty Kennedy with 5 kills and 3 aces while Julianna Chapman had 4 kills and Madison Kahl served 2 aces,
"We certainly miss our 3 starters and hope to have them back next week," said Langanis. "Our kids played hard and with great intensity."
In Game 1, the Rockets propelled to a 6-1 lead on an ace by Nava. The Trojans methodically whittled away at the Rocket lead and tied the game at 10-10 on an ace by Kahl.
With the score knotted at 21, the Rockets scored the final 4 points capped by a kill from Hahn.
Like Game 1, the Rockets started fast in Game 2.
An ace by Burton gave Central an early 5-point 10-5 advantage,
The Trojans continued to battle and climbed within 17-14 on a kill by Kennedy.
The Rockets responded with a pivotal 5-0 run. Hahn and Burton collected 2 kills each and Stoneman served an ace as Central opened an 8-point 22-14 lead.
A kill by Nava gave the Rockets the game and match.