Hornets Good, Not Great, In Beating Waubonsie Valley

When ’s girls volleyball team lost to Joliet Catholic in a three-set battle on Aug. 30, Hornets coach Lisa Martinez said it was her team’s best effort to date.

Waubonsie Valley coach Kristen Stuart said the same thing Thursday night after her squad was beaten 25-20, 25-22 by in a nonconference match in Darien.

“I just told them I know we lost, but that’s the best match we’ve played so far this year,” Stuart said. “That’s been our most complete match. We’ve played other teams and lost to teams that weren’t as good as is.

“They’re a very solid team and I think we haven’t challenged as much as we did tonight. We were pretty much smooth throughout the whole match and that was very good to see.”

Both sides were smooth, if not overwhelming, in a match that was close throughout. In the end, the Hornets (5-4) had too much firepower. Junior setter Sharon Anderson dished out 23 assists to six different players.

Junior outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn led the way with eight kills, while senior middle Melissa Nava added seven kills and two blocks, including the game-winner in both sets. But also received six kills from junior right-side hitter Rachel Kent and four kills and two blocks from No. 2 middle Alecia Kroeker.

“I try to mix it up so the blockers don’t just sit on Jessie or don’t just sit on Melissa,” Anderson said. That way “we can spread out and make holes in the block.”

That’s how the Hornets broke a 16-16 tie in the first game and closed with a 9-4 run as Brezwyn had two kills and Kroeker added a kill and two blocks before Nava closed it out with a short dump.

But the Hornets couldn’t continue the momentum in the second game as the Warriors (5-6) grabbed an 11-9 lead on a kill from Danielle Vandenberg and a block from Lauren Lindell.

The hosts quickly tied it on two service points from Nava, including an ace, but they had trouble finishing off the Warriors, who never trailed by more than three points the rest of the way.

Waubonsie tied the game at 20 on a Vandenberg ace, and a kill by Brittany Rampersad squared things at 22, but the Hornets retook the lead on a Kent tip and closed it out with an ace from Catherine Pinas and a block by Nava.

“We can definitely play better,” Anderson said. “It shouldn’t have been that close. We let them come back in, let them get a few runs here and there, but overall I guess it was an all right game.”

It was not all right to Martinez.

“Waubonsie’s got a couple good kids,” Martinez said. “Lisa Studnicka on the outside did a great job for them, but I feel like we should be a little bit more diverse and we started off that way and then we sort of let things go.

“We don’t hold ourselves to a very high standard. We’re just squeaking by. The talent, the diversity, all that’s there. It’s why do you not have that hunger to go out there and just beat a team.”

The fact the Hornets weren’t able to blow out Waubonsie Valley may be a testament to the improvement the Warriors are making.

“We didn’t let them go on any huge runs,” Stuart said. “If they did go on a couple-point run, we came back. There were just a couple errors at the end or at key points that cost us. I thought we served aggressive, I thought we hit aggressively. Blocking was much better than it has been.

“This is a very new team. We only have four returners so we’re having to gel pretty quickly, but I feel like they’re making improvements and that’s all we can ask for right now.”

Studnicka, a senior outside hitter, paced the Warriors with six kills, while Vandenberg, Rampersad and setter Rachel Minarick all added three kills. Minarick had 13 assists and three service points and senior libero Lauren Clarke paced the defense with seven digs.

Minarick “has been doing a really good job,” Stuart said. “She’s just a sophomore but she’s really, really talented. I can’t wait to see how good she’s going to be.”