Saints Spike Through Early Season

It's hard to harp on the negative when your team is off to a 3-0 start but St. Charles East girls volleyball coach Jennie Kull expects a lot from her team.

"Right now, we're not feeling that we're as aggressive as we were earlier in our first game (against Benet Academy)," said Kull, who has guided the Saints to a pair of state championships in 2001 and 2008.

Over their first three matches, the nationally ranked Saints–by PrepVolleyball.com–have yet to drop a game. St. Charles East defeated non-conference foe Wheaton North 25-20, 25-20 on Aug. 31 in Wheaton.

"We were a half-step slow today," Kull said, "and we weren't making the plays we needed to make.

"However, this team (Wheaton North) is a good team – they pass well and play hard. We just have to make sure that we work on continuing those spurts."

In the opening game, the Saints enjoyed a late spurt to put away the pesky Falcons. Leading 21-20, St. Charles East scored the final game's final four points with two of those coming on aces from junior Stephanie Camper.

In Game 2, the Saints fell behind 6-3 before reeling off eight consecutive points. The surge included a pair of aces from Sam Szarmach (3 aces, 8 kills, 10 digs), block-kills from Olivia Desormey (4 kills, 3 blocks) and Erienne Barry (23 assists, 3 blocks, 2 kills), and a kill from third-year varsity veteran Meghan Niski (4 kills, 8 digs).

"We played all right but I definitely know we can play better," said Szarmach, one of just three seniors on the Saints' roster. "It's nice to win but we're never really satisfied with what we're doing."

The Saints, who have four 6-footers on the roster, also received contributions from Maisey Mulvey (5 digs) and Nichole Lambert (3 kills). 

"They really enjoy playing together – that's the greatest thing," Kull said. "When you walk away, you know you have a team that cares about each other and works hard together."

St. Charles East competes in the Conant Invitational Sept. 3-4.