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Larkin rallies past rival Elgin in crosstown match
| Andrew A. Nelles~For Sun-Times Media |
Updated: August 30, 2011 9:12PM
It may have been an intangible as simple as the will to win that rescued Larkin on Tuesday in an Upstate Eight River volleyball opener against rival Elgin.
Larkin’s girls stared defeat in the eyes, but rallied for a 23-25, 25-11, 26-24 victory at Elgin High’s Chesbrough Field House.
“We wanted to win this match — it was just our desire to win it,” said Larkin sophomore Brianna Stewart, who led her team with 11 kills.
A little chewing out didn’t hurt, either. Coach Marcin Dybka saw the Maroons take an 11-7 lead in the final game and called his team over for a timeout. Then Larkin (1-2, 1-0) scored five of the next seven points to turn it into a free-for-all that ended when they escaped match point to score four straight and win it when an Elgin bump rolled several feet along the top of the net and out of bounds.
“I started yelling, pretty much, just yelling at the team,” said Dybka of the 11-7 deficit. “I knew they would either start crying or start winning the game.”
He got his answer in a hurry when senior Piper Johnson produced one of her seven kills on the night to start Larkin’s 6-2 run that turned around the game.
Dybka said he saw the “desire to win” in the eyes of middle blocker Sarah Woods when she stepped to the line and served the final three points.
“She was put under a lot of pressure and responded in the end,” Dybka said.
Woods, normally a back row player or outside hitter, had played the entire match at middle blocker because Jill Casebeer suffered a concussion in practice Monday.
“Our communication got lot better toward the end of the game,” said Woods. “And we just really wanted to win it because Elgin is our rival.”
Elgin’s Kenyatta Scales had an ace to set up match point at 24-22, but then served into the net. The Royals then scored the next three points with the first being key. Sophomore Olivia Kofie stuffed a kill attempt by Elgin’s Monica Stockman to the floor for a 24-24 tie.
“I told her to watch the middle blocker’s hips — that wherever she faces, that’s where she’s going to hit,” Dybka said. “We’d been missing them but we finally got one.”
Elyssa Helker’s hit went wide, and then the Maroons got into trouble after failing to handle a Woods serve correctly, resulting in the final point.
Helker’s kill, a net violation and a kill by Stockman had given Elgin a 23-19 lead in the final game but a Stewart kill after an Elgin error started a 4-0 run to tie it at 23.
Kofie had five kills, Woods three blocks and Stewart led the way at the serving line with three aces for the Royals. Setter Lexi Smithberg dished out 22 assists.
The Maroons (1-3, 0-1) displayed strong serving most of the night — an area of concern in preseason for new coach Scott Stewart. Taylor Powers had five aces and Hope Demel two.
“Taylor’s new nickname is going to be ‘Ace,’” Stewart said.
The Maroons fared well much of the night at the net too as Heker had eight kills, Bree Hamilton seven and two blocks, and Stockman four kills. Demel made 24 assists.
“We really haven’t been in a lot of matches like this,” Stewart said. “I told the girls this is good preparation for regionals.
“I told them this is a good building block and it’s just going to make us better.”
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