Volleyball notebook: Cary-Grove searches for consistency; Burlington Central puts up a fight

Cary-Grove volleyball coach Patty Langanis felt good about her team’s showing Saturday at the Jacobs Invite. The Trojans went 3-2, took seventh and showed improvement throughout the 12-team event.

They were unable, however, to carry that over to its home court Tuesday against Prairie Ridge in a 25-19, 25-20 Fox Valley Conference loss, dropping the Trojans to 2-3 in FVC play.

“We had a great win over Marian Central, and we played really well against Lake Forest,” Langanis said after the loss to Prairie Ridge. “I was excited with how I thought we were going to enter tonight’s match, but we were off from the start, and Prairie Ridge didn’t let up. All we needed them to do was make a one or two of unforced errors and I think we would have been back in, but they saw an opportunity and jumped on it.”

The Trojans (5-5) returned four starters from the COVID-19-shortened spring season – Mya Bajramovic, Tricia Kennedy, Alexes Koenig and Juliana Chapman – and Langanis likes what she has seen so far from her group of newcomers.

But it’s still a work in progress.

“We’re definitely trying to figure out our team,” Langanis said. “We know that we have talent. We know that they work hard. We’re just trying to figure out how we can be a little more consistent so we can compete in these big matches.”

C-G has a new setter, junior Isabelle Strader, running the offense with the graduation of Lauren Passaglia. Strader, normally on the outside, had never played the position before, and making that move can be difficult, Langanis said.

“What we’re asking her to do is unbelievable, and I’m really proud of her,” Langanis said. “There’s so many things a setter just knows. They know how to be tricky, they know how to really run an offense and be a decoy for the block. Isabelle is getting really better every week. I’m really impressed. It’s a lot to have a new setter at the varsity level.”

Langanis hopes Tuesday’s loss can help serve as a lesson going forward.

“I want them to hurt. I want them to really walk away, feel miserable and not want to feel miserable anymore,” she said. “I get worried sometimes after the COVID year, that they’re more accepting of losing and you don’t ever want a team to be OK with where they’re at.”

Battle Rockets: Burlington Central became the first team this season to push Huntley to three sets, but came up short in a 25-22, 19-25, 25-13 loss to the FVC co-leaders. The Rockets beat Huntley during the COVID-19-shortened spring, although Huntley was missing some key players at the time.

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Rylie Hahn (11 kills), Addison Nava (7) and the Rockets were finding holes around Huntley’s big block in their most recent match, but couldn’t keep up with the Raiders in the third set. Despite the loss, Burlington Central coach Sam Mainzer was happy to see her team push one of the FVC’s top contenders this early in the season.

“I’m happy with how we played,” Mainzer said. “I think that when we see them again, it will be another good matchup. We were pushing them for awhile, but we knew they would come back and fight in their home gym. They’re a super competitive team. What we’re hoping for the next time we play them is we push back sooner and stronger.

“We’ve been battling all year.”

Burlington had the second best regular season record among FVC teams during the spring (6-3), and multiple FVC coaches mentioned the Rockets as a team to watch out for. Mainzer said she expects the Rockets to only get better from here.

Wolves have fun: Prairie Ridge’s spring wasn’t what the Wolves had hoped for as they finished at the bottom of the FVC with a 2-9 record. Tuesday’s two-set win against a rival reminded them how much fun winning can be.

Prairie Ridge went into Tuesday’s match with Cary-Grove with one win, but Wolves coach Stefanie Otto said the team has been upbeat since the start of the season.

“I hope this boosts their confidence,” Otto said. “They’re fun to have in practice, they work hard and they enjoy being in the gym together – and that can be a very big hurdle sometimes. They want to get better, and you can see that.”

Senior libero Breckan Severson said the spring was a struggle for everyone.

“Every time we would lose, nobody wanted to be there, and it was no fun,” Severson said. “I think this year, we really changed our perspective, and I think we can really push now. Cary is one of our bigger rivals, so I’m very glad that we pulled it together tonight.”

Woodstocks lead the the way: Woodstock and Woodstock North are both 2-0 in the KRC after Tuesday’s matches, and the District 200 rivals again figure to be among the top contenders for the KRC title this year.

The Blue Streaks and Thunder have been the class of the KRC the past two seasons. Woodstock claimed the KRC title in 2020, the team’s first conference title since 1986, with a 10-0 record. In the spring, North won its first conference title ever by also going 10-0.

The teams face each other for the first time this season Sept. 22 at Woodstock North. Their second KRC meeting won’t come until Oct. 20.

Warriors take second: McHenry (6-4) finished 4-1 at the Rochelle Lady Hub Invite over the weekend, with their one loss coming against Rockford Lutheran, 25-16, 25-18. The Warriors’ four wins were in straight sets: Rochelle (25-11, 25-22), Ottawa (25-9, 25-9), Ashton-Franklin Center (25-14, 25-14) and Earlville (25-9, 25-16).