Girls volleyball: Minooka rallies to overcome Romeoville in three sets

MINOOKA – Last week, Minooka went to three sets against Joliet West before dropping a 30-28 decision. It was a match the Indians led 23-19 in the third set.

On Tuesday, Minooka found itself in the same situation against Romeoville, which entered the match leading the Southwest Prairie Conference with a 6-0 conference mark.

“These girls really feed off each other. If one is down, then it seems like all of them are down. If one is up, then they all seem to get up.”

—  Carrie Prosek, Minooka coach

Minooka led 23-19 in the third set after losing the first set 14-25 and winning the second 25-20.

This time, however, the end result was different, as the Indians (12-9, 5-2) were able to close out the third set and take a 14-25, 25-20, 25-22 win over the Spartans (16-5, 6-1).

Call it a lesson learned.

“We have been doing drills all week where we have a 23-19 lead,” Minooka coach Carrie Prosek said. “We need to learn to capitalize on our leads and not let them slip away. I am so proud of the girls. They have put in a lot of work with their blocking and playing as a team.

“These girls really feed off each other. If one is down, then it seems like all of them are down. If one is up, then they all seem to get up.”

They were up in the second and third sets after Romeoville cruised to a 25-14 win in the first set. Minooka began to get contributions from multiple players after the first set. Romeoville went on a 5-0 run early to take an 8-5 lead, but Minooka countered with a 10-1 spurt of its own to move ahead 15-9. during that stretch, Mackenzie Brass had two kills and a block, while Makenna Petrovic had a kill and combined with Claire Olsen on two blocks. On the night, sophomore Brooklynne Brass led Minooka with 10 kills to go with nine digs and three blocks, while classmate Kendall Kozak had seven kills, 13 assists, 11 digs and two blocks. Mackenzie Brass had six kills and four blocks, with Olsen adding seven blocks.

“It feels good to win one of these close ones,” Kozak said. “We worked on having a lead and keeping it in practice. It was definitely a team effort tonight. The team is getting better as the year goes on.

“A win like this, we hope it can be a stepping stone for us. We do need to work on starting stronger, though.”

Not only did Minooka’s offensive production improve in the final two sets, but the defense was stellar as well. Seniors Kennedi Brass and Maria Verecelote anchored the back line, with Brass adding a pair of kills.

“Our younger players grew up a little bit tonight,” Prosek said. “We’ve been in battles all year, and we play a tough schedule with a lot of good teams, which helps out. Maria and Kennedi were at the next level with their defense tonight, too.”

Romeoville was led by sophomore Lianna Ortiz, who had 10 kills and five blocks. Grace Griffin had five blocks and two kills, while University of California-Davis recruit Demi Cole had five blocks and six kills. Libero Alyssa Crowley had four aces and 15 digs, and Eden Eyassu had six kills and 16 digs. Kameron Blizniak had 22 assists, 11 digs and two blocks.

“We started well, but things just didn’t go our way tonight,” Romeoville coach Paige Reinert said. “Our conference always gives us great battles. Minooka and Joliet West are two very tough places to win. Their students show up and they are loud.

“We have some things we need to work on, but playing competitive volleyball like this is fun. We have our work cut out for us with games against Lincoln-Way East and Naperville North on Friday, but that’s how we get better. We need to learn, and we will let this match be a lesson for us.”