NewsTribune Volleyball Notebook: Harper Schrock makes impact in return for Henry

Henry-Senachwine sophomore Harper Schrock has been out with a quad strain since the team’s match against El Paso-Gridley on Sept. 18.

She tried to return for the Mallards’ match against Marquette on Sept. 21, but had a setback. Schrock played in the third set of Henry’s win over St. Bede on Oct. 5 as a test and felt good before sitting out the team’s five matches Saturday at the Monmouth United tournament as a precaution.

Schrock made her full return this week for the Tri-County Conference Tournament and she’s made a big impact.

The left-handed right side hitter put down six kills in the No. 5-seeded Mallards’ 25-12, 25-16 upset of No. 4 Putnam County in the quarterfinals.

She then had a team-high eight kills in Henry’s 25-23, 14-25, 25-17 upset of No. 1 Seneca in the semifinals.

On the season, Schrock ranks second on the team in kills per set at 2.

“She’s definitely a force when she’s out there,” Henry coach Rita Self said. “She plays with a lot of confidence and energy. The girls feed off that. It’s nice having a lefty on the right side. She takes a lot of balls that are out of system, and she can take care of it. It helps us out a ton. It’s definitely taken our game back to where it was at the beginning of the season (when the Mallards started 10-3).”

The Mallards also played a stretch without libero Taylor Frawley, but she’s also back in the lineup.

“We’re healthy and I’m excited to see what we can do in the postseason,” Self said. “We’re playing with some confidence right now. Having the crew back together helps with that. We had a lot of girls who filled in who did a great job too.”

Henry (19-13) looks to finish its run in the conference tournament against No. 2 Marquette in Thursday’s championship.

“We’re ready for a rematch,” Self said. “We’re excited to play them with our team healthy.”

Even better this fall

Last season, Fieldcrest’s Allie Wiesenhofer was the NewsTribune Volleyball Player of the Year after she averaged 3.5 kills and 3.7 digs per set to lead the Knights to a 29-5 record and a sectional final appearance.

This fall, Wiesenhofer has been even better.

She’s put down an area-best 4 kills per set and ranks fourth in the area in digs at 4 per set.

Wiesenhofer has helped the Knights to a 23-4 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Heart of Illinois Conference.

Playing all the way around

Putnam County senior middle hitter Maggie Richetta is one of the area’s biggest threats at the net this season.

Richetta ranks third in the area in kills at 3 per set and is third in blocks at 0.7 per set.

However, she’s also an asset in the back row as she leads the Panthers an ranks third in the area in digs at 4.1 per set.

“It’s not very often that a middle hitter gets to play all the way around and when they do, they don’t usually lead the back row stats,” Putnam County coach Amy Bell said.

Efficient at the net

La Salle-Peru junior Ava Currie is a strong defender at the net for the Cavaliers, leading the area in blocks at 1 per set.

She’s also been an efficient offensive weapon for L-P.

Currie has put down 117 of her 211 kill attempts for a 55.5 hitting percentage, which leads the team by 16.6 percent. She averages 2.1 kills per set, which is tied for second on the team.

Postseason outlook

Two area teams earned No. 1 seeds in their sub-sectionals.

La Salle-Peru was voted the No. 1 seed in sub-sectional A of the Class 3A Galesburg Sectional, while Fieldcrest was tabbed as the top seed in sub-sectional A of the Class 2A Princeton Sectional.

The Cavaliers are one of five area teams who will host a regional along with Putnam County, Mendota, Henry-Senachwine and Earlville.

L-P opens the regional at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24 against the winner of Monday’s match between No. 7 Geneseo and No. 9 Dixon. If the Cavs win, they’ll face a fellow Interstate 8 Conference team in No. 4 Morris or No. 6 Rochelle in the final on Thursday, Oct. 26.

In the 2A Mendota Regional, the host Spikers are the No. 8 seed and will play No. 6 Coal City with the winner advancing to face No. 1 Fieldcrest.

In the 1A Putnam County Regional on Tuesday, No. 3 Putnam County plays No. 14 DePue and No. 6 St. Bede plays No. 13 LaMoille with the winners playing Wednesday in the semifinals.

In the 1A Henry Regional, the No. 4 Mallards play No. 12 Stark County on Tuesday and will face the winner of No. 5 Princeville and No. 9 Midland in Wednesday’s semifinals.

In the 1A Earlville Regional, the Red Raiders are a No. 4 seed and play No. 14 Mooseheart on Tuesday.

In Class 2A, Hall and Princeton are in the Illinois Valley Central Regional. The No. 10 Red Devils open against No. 9 Kewanee on Monday with the winner playing No. 2 IVC on Tuesday. No. 7 Princeton faces No. 3 El Paso-Gridley on Tuesday.

Bureau Valley is a No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 Rockridge in the Class 2A Sherrard Regional.