DeKalb’s large crowd was looking to erupt in jubilation, but pesky Genoa-Kingston would not go away during Wednesday’s non-conference match.

Clinging to a 21-20 lead in the decisive third set, Barbs junior Maddi Hollar gave the hometown faithful a reason to squeal as she closed out the victory with three consecutive service points to deliver a 15-25, 25-16, 25-20 victory.

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Genoa-Kingston's Presley Meyer spikes the ball between DeKalb's Meila Robinson (left) and Jordan Grant during their match Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at DeKalb High School. (Mark Busch)

Hollar finished with eight aces.

“I like to just dial in and the serving line is really the only time where you have the whole game in your control,” she said. “Our coach is really big on making your first serve because you never know what can happen after that.

“I focus on being steady on the first serve and adding more pace to it as I go, and hitting my zones was crucial for this game. They had great passers so we really tried to work them out of system. I worked a lot of short serves which I haven’t done a lot of in the past so just staying consistent.”

The junior continues to improve and has become a key weapon with her serve.

“Her serve has improved to a point where you can put a doughnut on the court and she can find the hole,” Barbs coach Keith Foster said. “When we saw Maddi come out to serve we felt pretty good about the situation.”

Genoa-Kingston (5-5) gave the Barbs a bit of their own medicine in the opening set, riding sophomore Jessie Fredrickson’s dangerous serve, turning a tight 8-6 set into a 15-6 advantage.

DeKalb (2-2) fought back to force the decisive final set, pulling ahead early after three straight aces from Hollar for a 7-2 lead.

“We talk about good mistakes and bad mistakes with the short serve,” Hollar said. “It’s very mental and like just staying locked in the whole time, staying focused. We have a very big next point mentality so no matter what happens the point before, I’m always focused on the next point and not so much on what just happened.”

The Barbs took advantage of consecutive hitting errors to pull ahead 21-15 late in the final set, but the Cogs rallied with a five-point run behind junior Presley Meyer’s serve. After her run concluded with an errant serve, Hollar put the Cogs away for good.

“There are a couple rotational issues that we’re battling right now,” Cogs coach Taylor Spellman said. “It’s early and we’re still trying to find that perfect rotation. It’s all right. The kids did OK. I’m not upset. My motto is always win or you learn and we have practice tomorrow and we are working on rotational stuff and fundamentals.”

A positive for the Cogs was the return of Annabelle Peters. The senior had been sidelined with an injury.

“It’s a huge positive that she’s back, but she hasn’t touched a ball in like three weeks,” Spellman said. “She performed very well, put the ball in play.”

Foster spent 14 years as head coach for Genoa-Kingston, winning a Class 2A state title in 2022 so it’s always a big deal to battle his former school.

“The Genoa kids came to play and I respect that,” he said. “These experiences prep us for conference and postseason play. These are environments you can’t replicate in practice. Both teams are walking away better teams tonight for sure.”

Molly Fell (12 digs), Jaden Longeville (9 digs), Hollar (17 assists), Issy Smith (11 digs, 8 kills, 5 blocks, Zora Watts (6 blocks), Leila Robinson (10 digs, 4 kills) and Jordan Grant (9 kills, 5 blocks) led the Barbs.

Presley (15 assists, 14 digs, 4 kills), Fredrickson (11 digs, 11 kills, 4 aces), Addison Langton (16 digs), Aubrey Wise (6 kills), Bria Botterman (7 kills), Ari Rich (6 assists, 4 digs) paced the Cogs.