Preparation makes Sycamore volleyball champs
By JOHN SAHLY
-
jsahly@daily-chronicle.com
BURLINGTON – This past Thursday, after squeaking by a tough Burlington Central team, Sycamore decided to stay and watch Hampshire take on DeKalb.
It paid off in the form of a regional championship.
"We knew every play they were running," Sycamore coach Debbie Klock said.
In a regional loaded from top to bottom, Sycamore came out on top with a dominant performance to sweep top-seeded Hampshire 25-18, 25-12 in the Class 3A Burlington Central Regional championship match.
The Spartans (31-6) flustered Hampshire (33-5) by forcing the smaller Whip-Purs to hit around the block attempts of Evyn McCoy, Kaitlyn Roach, Stephanie Huber and Kate Binder. McCoy ended the match with three stuff blocks and Roach added two.
"We were completely prepared," McCoy said. "I don't think we could have been more prepared. I'm really proud."
When Hampshire did manage to get the ball over or around Sycamore's block, the Spartans' defense was there to continually dig the ball out and set up the offense. Sycamore had 32 digs as a team, led by libero Justine Schepler's 11.
Klock credited Schepler and Sarah Verkler with putting the Spartans in the right positions.
"[Schepler] looks to see where they're going and they can adjust," Klock said. "Her and Sarah both knew what they were going to run. It helps to scout."
Although Sycamore's offense pounded away at the Hampshire back line, it was those frustrations on offense that caused Hampshire to make several mistakes in hitting and communication. With Sycamore already winning the first game, Hampshire came out in the second game and made four straight unforced errors, leading to a 6-0 start for the Spartans.
"You've got to give Sycamore credit, they played their hearts out," said Hampshire coach Karen Whitehouse. "But it was just a disappointing effort. We weren't here tonight. It didn't matter what team was on the other side of the court, we beat ourselves. It's that simple."
Sycamore rattled off two six-point runs and one unanswered streak of five points in the second game, leaving Hampshire little room for error.
"It didn't surprise me that we knew what they were doing but it surprised me that we executed so well," Schepler said. "We took away the game in that second game."
Sycamore now advances to Rochelle Sectional and will play Sterling at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
"It's awesome. We were nervous because a lot of good teams were here," Schepler said. "Everybody could have made it past."
Comments
