West Aurora rallies back against Redhawks

Updated: September 8, 2011 8:32PM

Rallying from a 19-11 deficit in the opening game here at West Aurora Thursday night, the host Blackhawks swung the pendulum in their direction and gripped it tight.

After completing the improbable comeback 26-24, West Aurora kept momentum on its side and downed Naperville Central 25-17 in game two to claim the match. The Blackhawks improved to 8-5 overall and 2-0 in the DuPage Valley while the Redhawks slipped to 4-4, 1-1.

“They were getting some pretty good block touches and blocking us, so we had to tell ourselves to hit high hand and be smart about the plays we’re making,” said junior Lauren Carlini who was recognized prior to the match for her participation on the U.S. Girls Youth National Team that recently competed in Ankara, Turkey. “We had the first home game jitters. We had to get that out of our system and just play volleyball like we usually do.”

The Redhawks jumped out to a 10-2 advantage in the first game behind the serving of Carly Wesolowski and net play of Nikki Connors. Wesolowski served nine consecutive points while Connors recorded four blocks and Alysia Baznik (six kills, 16 assists) had two kills.

Naperville Central maintained that margin after kills by Baznik and Kendall Ward and led 19-11 before consecutive points by Lauren Wilson (eight kills) slowed the Redhawks. A 6-0 run by the Blackhawks trimmed the lead to 20-19. Wilson, Peyton McKenzie and Samantha Small notched kills in that span while Wilson and Carlini added blocks for points.

West Aurora trailed 24-23, but a pair of miscues gave the Blackhawks a 25-24 edge. McKenzie closed the game with an ace that landed just inside the far corner.

“We found some good tempo and good momentum, somehow it just stopped; and unfortunately we never found it for the rest of the match,” said Naperville Central coach Brie Isaacson. “I’m not taking anything away from West Aurora; they’re a good team and have good players.

“They were part of the reason we couldn’t find it,” Isaacson continued. “But I was disappointed that we started letting balls fall that initially weren’t falling.”

Trailing 12-9 in game two, West Aurora regained the lead with a 10-3 burst. Carlini (five kills, six assists) smacked a pair of kills, and sophomore Abriya Zeitz (six kills) added a kill. Zeitz stood out down the stretch when she scored two kills and added a block as the Blackhawks ended the match with a 5-1 splash.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.