Three straight conference losses. Another tough match going three games. The excitement felt by Burlington Central’s Addison Nava afterward?
Completely understandably.
Nava, a senior outside hitter, and teammate Rylie Hahn combined to score the final seven points Tuesday night with kills, leading the host Rockets to a 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 Fox Valley Conference win over Crystal Lake Central.
“It was awesome, especially coming off a losing streak,” Nava said. “We really needed a win.
“We had a good tournament over the weekend (at Antioch), so coming out and getting a conference win is going to help us out a lot the next few weeks.”
Nava and Hahn each had 14 kills to power Burlington Central (6-6, 3-4). The final stretch to seal the match seemed appropriate that Hahn and Nava were in the middle of it.
“It’s so much fun,” Nava said. “Rylie and I are best friends outside of volleyball too, so growing up with her through the program has always been so much fun.”
It was a rough start for the host Rockets as Crystal Lake Central (4-8, 2-3) jumped out to a 9-2 lead in Game 1.
“It was a big put-down when you’re down seven points right off the bat,” Nava said. “But we like to come back and fight at the end, and that’s when we play our best game.”
Jheanne Ashley Arceo and Hahn each had two kills and Rachel Stoneman served an ace as the Rockets flipped the 9-2 deficit into a 12-10 lead.
After the Tigers cut the lead to 22-20, Hahn finished off the win with three kills.
The Rockets then trailed again to start Game 2 as Crystal Lake Central took a 14-9 lead. Consecutive kills from Hahn and Nava cut the deficit to 24-23, but the Tigers held on to force the third game.
The serving of Stoneman, however, gave Burlington Central a 5-0 lead. She had seven aces, with the Rockets totaling 10 as a team.
“The serving was great,” Burlington Central assistant coach Caitlin Zasadil said. “It’s something we have struggled with a little bit, so I was happy to see a lot of aces coming out of a few different girls.”
Solid serving also helped the Rockets negate the impact of Crystal Lake Central outside hitter McKenna Timmerman, who managed a match-high 21 kills.
“Serving was definitely one of our strong suits,” Nava said. “Getting them out of system and knowing it was going to (Timmerman), we were able to get a block up and play defense around it.
“That really helped us, knowing where the set was going to go. She had a great game and congrats to her. But in the end, we got it done and that’s all that matters.”
The challenge of having two experienced, solid outside hitters? Teams know how the Rockets will often to turn to them in key moments.
The two kills from Arceo, and even a big kill in Game 2 from freshman Addison Krieger in her varsity debut, showed Burlington Central trying to spread the sets around.
“We’ve been working on making sure we get the other girls involved because everyone knows we have the two of them,” Zasadil said. “You can’t have your whole playbook out there, so we’ve been working on mixing it up, making sure everybody is getting involved.”
Nava hopes the win will be a springboard to a bounce-back run for the Rockets.
“We want to get back on top in conference and keep the ride going,” Nava said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.