Waukegan gets on the board

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:30PM

Judging by the intensity and screams in the Dog Pound on Thursday night, one might believe the contest between the Waukegan Bulldogs and the North Chicago Warhawks was for a championship of some kind instead of a mid-season match to see which team would win its first game of the year.

In the end, it was the home-team Bulldogs eking out a 25-21, 18-25, 26-24 victory.

The final game was a barn-burner.

With junior Juana Mondragon at the service line, the Bulldogs went from a 5-4 lead to a 15-4 advantage, a 10-point run that included six aces.

"That was crazy," said Mondragon of her golden period with the ball. It's nice to turn after every one of those points and see your teammates screaming and smiling in your face. It was my best game and I was having some trouble catching my breath. There was a lot of emotion."

But despite the giant lead, the Warhawks, playing without head coach Ed Wrather who was at an AAU event, came roaring back behind the leadership and play of the best player on the court, Nychel Mitchell.

Mitchell, who was all over the court all night long, was serving with her team trailing 20-14. By the time the serve exchanged hands, North Chicago was in the lead 22-20 and Waukegan appeared to be crumbling.

But with junior Lina Luu getting kills on three straight Waukegan points, the game finally came to an end with an ace by, who else, Mondragon.

"This is a big game for me," said Waukegan head coach Rachel Wiatrowski prior to the match. "It's a chance for us to get a win, but I'm not mentioning that to the kids, although they all know it."

The coach pointed out that the team lost 12 seniors from last year's successful club, which included five club players.

"We've got a team of girls who basically first started playing when they were freshmen. Nine girls have changed their game and become better players during the course of the season, which is what this year has been all about ... getting better. The lack of wins is nothing to get depressed about."

The Bulldogs got their first victory with their two tallest players on the bench in street clothes. Senior Sam Stout, arguably the team's best player, is on crutches with a swollen ankle and sophomore Syerra Cunningham is recovering from a concussion.

"I was sad I wasn't on the court to help," said Stout. "But I was glad to help the team by cheering like crazy. I'm proud of my team."

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