The temptation is to say junior Amanda Otten does a little bit of everything for Batavia, but that’s an understatement.
The fact is, Otten does a lot of everything for the Bulldogs, ranking first or second on the team in five key statistical categories.
“When she is that leader that she is, when she plays like a leader, she’s getting up her blocks, getting up her swings,” Batavia coach McKenna Kelsay said. “That brings a natural energy to us and a natural fire underneath us.”
Maybe it’s not surprising.
The 6-foot-3 Otten, who’s in her third year on the varsity, is a co-captain who plays setter and right-side hitter. She’s always involved, always on the court.
She was again Tuesday night when the host Bulldogs clashed with Wheaton North for the second time in four days in the teams’ DuKane Conference opener.
And for the second time, the visiting Falcons prevailed in a tight, 25-10, 23-25, 25-19 decision.
“I was proud of the way Amanda came back and played well in that second set and third set as well,” Kelsay said.
Wheaton North prevailed 18-25, 25-18, 16-14 Saturday at the Jacobs Invitational.
Otten entered the match with a team-leading 74 kills, 67 digs and 118 assists. She was second with 24 blocks and 13 aces.
She added nine assists, five kills, five blocks and five digs Tuesday night for Batavia (7-7, 0-1), but struggled in Game 1 like everyone on the team.
“We changed a couple things up but nothing that should have produced what we put out there in that first game,” Kelsay said. “We were just scrambling. We weren’t sure what was going on.”
Otten wasn’t sure she had an answer, either, after the Bulldogs trailed 7-0 and never recovered in Game 1.
“Maybe we thought since we almost beat them once we could do it again and homecourt advantage would be the difference,” Otten said. “We could have played better as a team in general.
“I know we did in the second game. I was overthinking that first game. I knew what I had to do in the second game and I did it.”
Game 2 was tied at 13-13, 16-16, 18-18 and 19-19 before a block from Otten, an ace from senior outside hitter Kyra Taylor and a kill from junior middle Claire Ellward gave the Bulldogs some breathing room at 22-19.
Otten added a block and then assisted on Madelyn Hooper’s game-winning kill.
Game 3 opened with a repeat of the first, with the visiting Falcons taking a 7-1 lead. Batavia battled back to eventually tie it 16-16.
Wheaton North eventually pulled through, the winner coming from junior outside Audrey Brcka on a tip for her match-leading 14th kill.
“That’s the DuKane Conference,” Wheaton North coach Justin Hineman said. “It’s loaded from top to bottom. Every Tuesday night is going to look like this. Even as impressive as our game 1 victory was, I knew Batavia was going to come out and bring it in the second, and they definitely did.
“Amanda (Otten) is definitely a skill player, and her height helps in the block. She us there in Game 2 and kind of took us out of our rhythm.”
Otten said it’s a challenge to move between setting and hitting, but she loves it.
“I’ve learned to compartmentalize,” Otten said. “When I’m in the back row I focus on setting and defense and when I’m in the front row, it’s blocking and hitting.
“It definitely fires me up because I love hitting. It’s more fun to me, I guess. I was a setter originally and I grew and became a right side. I only started hitting two years ago. It’s been a journey.”