Girls volleyball: Ellie Blotnik delivers late in both sets as JCA tops Minooka

JOLIET – After a bit of a feeling out phase early in the first set Wednesday, Joliet Catholic Academy outside hitter Ellie Blotnik found her groove late in Game 1.

Blotnik had five of her match-high 13 kills after the score was tied at 17, leading the Angels (7-2) to a 25-20 win in the first set. She then added five more kills in the second set, including one for match point, as JCA beat Minooka 25-20, 25-13 in front of a raucous crowd that featured both student sections chanting back and forth to each other.

“This was a nice match for us,” Blotnik said. “We knew it would be an emotional match because we just played them over the weekend. It’s always competitive with them, and they are a close-by rival.

“We are getting to where we trust each other on the court. I just felt good at the end of the first set, and I told [setter] Jess [Horn] to keep feeding me. She put it right where I wanted it. It was a dime every time.”

Blotnik and junior Olivia Chovanec were a formidable one-two punch for the Angels as Chovanec finished with nine kills. JCA coach Kisha Cameron makes the starting lineup so that either Blotnik or Chovanec is in the front row at all times

“Ellie and Olivia do a great job and can create mismatches,” Cameron said. “And, if teams set up blocks against them, we have players like Brooke Simon or Delani Kirstein who can put the ball down. We are getting to where teams must respect anyone on the floor, and Jess does a great job dishing it around and finding the hot hand.”

Minooka (3-5) hung in with the Angels early, shaking off a 4-0 JCA start to come back and tie it at 16 and 17 before Blotnik took over. Brooklynne Brass had five kills in Minooka’s comeback and led the Indians with six kills, while teammate Claire Olsen had four. Kendall Kozak had five kills to go with nine assists and two blocks, while Ava Valentin had 14 assists.

“Our passing fell apart a bit in the second set, but I was very proud of our girls in the first set,” Minooka coach Carrie Prosek said. “We fell behind 4-0 and fought back and were right in it the whole way. We are still a work in progress with a couple of sophomore starters learning how to play on the varsity.

“This was a good experience for us. It was loud in here, and it’s kind of a cross-town rivalry. A lot of the girls on both teams know each other from club. We are still figuring some things out, but the season is a marathon not a sprint.”

JCA took control early in the second set and kept it the entire way. The Angels raced out to an 8-4 lead that increased to 17-9. Minooka closed to within 20-12 before JCA outscored the Indians 5-1 the rest of the way with Blotnik delivering three kills.

“We played much cleaner tonight than we did Monday night,” Cameron said. “We are figuring things out, and tonight was more like how we want to play.

“This was a good, solid win for us. These girls have played so much lately that it will be nice to have just a normal practice day tomorrow.”