Manteno rallies to beat rival Peotone, pick up 11th straight win

Tuesday’s road win over Illinois Central Eight Conference rival Peotone was the Manteno girls volleyball team’s 11th win in a row this season and sixth straight win to open conference play.

But in a conference as competitive as the ICE, those wins have not always been easy.

After previously gutting out three-set wins over Wilmington and Coal City, the Panthers again found themselves coming out on top in a close battle against the Blue Devils. After dropping the first set 25-19, they took to second 25-19 and the third 25-21 to keep their unbeaten start to conference play intact.

They improved to 17-3 overall and 6-0 in conference play while Peotone fell to 10-6 (2-4).

The Panthers had plenty of wins in straight sets as well, including four in a row over the weekend as hosts of the Manteno Invite, but junior libero Morgan Derrico, who had a team-high 24 digs, said there is valuable experience that can come from close battles like they had Tuesday.

“It’s a really good learning opportunity,” she said. “We need more energy in order to play these bigger games, especially rivalries, where the tenseness is up and just everybody is kind of crazy. It’s good to slow down a little bit, get the next point and just have that next-point mentality.”

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Manteno's Maddie Gesky, center, celebrates a point with teammates during the Panthers' victory in three sets, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21, over Peotone on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Despite dropping the opening set, there were moments where Manteno displayed this mentality. After Peotone had gone up 19-13, the Panthers rattled off six straight points to tie things up. But the Blue Devils responded with a 6-0 run of their own to close out the set.

Manteno came out strong in the second set, building an early 7-1 lead and leading by as many as eight points at multiple occasions en route to a six-point win.

After Manteno led for the entirety of the second set, the third set featured three early lead changes and was even tied 19-19 before the Panthers took control to seal the win.

Manteno also had to battle through being shorthanded on Tuesday, with freshman middle hitter Olivia McElroy out sick and right side Aubrie Goudreau leaving early after taking a hit near her eye.

Leah Milton filled in for McElroy, recording three blocks and a pair of kills in the middle, while sophomore Amelia Cabello replaced Goudreau and finished with a couple of kills.

Manteno's Leah Milton, center, and Emily Horath jump to block a hit by Peotone's Cora Pagliarulo during the Panthers' victory in three sets, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21, over Peotone on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Junior Maddie Gesky led the team with 13 kills and four blocks in the win. She said the contributions from Milton and Cabello helped put the team over the top.

“I’d say that Leah in the middle having the confidence in her blocking was amazing and very crucial for our win,” Gesky said. “Same with Amelia coming in and playing all the way around. She played a little bit last year, but this is her first time really playing varsity.”

Manteno's Amelia Cabello, left, and Maddie Gesky reach to block a hit by Peotone's Mia Connolley during the Panthers' victory in three sets, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21, over Peotone on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

It’s not always going to be smooth sailing throughout an entire season. Manteno head coach Alexis Hosselton said that she was happy with how the team responded to some of the obstacles they faced Tuesday while managing to pick up a big conference win.

“We did a really did a good job being resilient,” she said. “I always tell the girls that it’s so important to push though adversity. Adversity is how you learn, and that’s how you grow. You can’t settle in those moments and you’ve just got to push forward. They came together. It wasn’t our best win, but we worked together and got it done.”

For the Blue Devils, their four conference losses this season have come against, Wilmington, Coal City, Streator and Manteno, the top four teams in the ICE standings a season ago and so far this season as well.

Head coach Kathy Barger said the team did a good job battling Tuesday, but left a few too many points on the table against a quality opponent.

“I think they fight hard on every point,” she said. “There’s not a time where they’re just giving up. We just made a lot of mistakes in that second set, cost us that set, but came out strong in the third set. Just at the end, we had a few tough ones.”