It wasn’t the prettiest game you’ll see, but the Naperville Central girls volleyball team came away with a home win on Monday night against West Aurora, 25-23, 25-18.
“Sometimes a win is a win, and you’ve got to appreciate that,” Naperville Central coach Jeff Danbom said. “At times, I don’t think we played all that well, but there were some good things to build upon.”
In the first game, neither team seemed to have their “A” game. Naperville Central went out to a 4-0 lead with West Aurora unable to get the modest serves back over the net. But they came back with four straight points, taking advantage of some Naperville Central miscues to tie the game. A kill by Naperville Central junior Kristina Bellavia was the first of the game and gave the Redhawks a 6-5 lead. They gave that lead away on the next play with a mishit, which led to four straight points by the Blackhawks to take a 9-6 lead.
A kill by Samantha Herron pulled the Redhawks to within one at 11-12, but West Aurora responded by scoring the next four points to lead 16-11. A Blackhawk block would up their lead to 20-14. At 22-17, Naperville Central won a long rally to pull to within four. The teams traded points to make it 23-19, but Naperville Central would go on a 6-0 run to end the game and get the victory, thanks in large part to the serving of senior Samantha Clements, who had two aces and was able to keep the momentum going after two West Aurora time-outs.
“We started very slowly, so you have to give West Aurora a lot of credit,” Danbom said. “They were aggressive and they served us very aggressively. … To me the highlight of our night was our never-quit attitude in that first set. We were down 19-23, and found a way to go on a 6-0 run.”
In the second game, West Aurora got off to a fast start and took a 6-2 lead. Naperville Central game back on the strength of Bellavia’s serving and three kills by Herron, which gave the Redhawks a 9-7 lead. They gradually grew the lead to 15-10, with an impressive kill by Bellavia off the block. A few miscues by Central let West Aurora back in the game at 15-14, which caused Danbom to call a timeout. The game was 18-16 when the Redhawks took control. Kills by Bellavia and Clements gave Naperville Central a 21-18 lead, and a strong block by Bellavia and senior Phoebe Havenaar upped the Redhawks lead to four. A kill by Havenaar made the score 23-18, and two miscues by West Aurora ended the game.
“I still didn’t feel like we had a great rhythm at all offensively,” Danbom said. “I feel like we were fighting ourselves. We were just not establishing a routine and calling out shots for hitters. Part of it just getting into our offensive system (this year).”
The Redhawks are now 2-1, with their next action in the Crossroads Classic in Effingham, Ill., this weekend. This marked the second game back for junior setter Andi Davenport, who was sidelined earlier this season with a neck strain.
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“She’s building in confidence,” Danbom said. “Which is the polite way to say that she’s rusty. But she’s working her way back. … I think we’re all still trying to find that rhythm.”