Girls volleyball: Kaneland makes most of its 10-point run to score comeback win at Ottawa

OTTAWA – Already up a set on Kaneland, the Ottawa Pirates put together an early 10-point run Tuesday in their Interstate 8 Conference opener but couldn’t put the Knights away, forcing a third set.

Improbably in a match that was back-and-forth, point-for-point most of the evening, Kaneland then put together a 10-point run of its own in that rubber set. Although Ottawa mounted a rally of its own, the Pirates never quite recovered, and the Knights left Kingman Gym with a hard-fought 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory.

“In my mind, I was like, ‘It’s a critical moment,’ " said senior middle Morgan Beam, who served the final nine points of the match-breaking 10-point run for Kaneland. “I had missed a couple serves prior, so I had that in the back of my mind, and I was focused on getting [the ball] over and in for the first couple. Once I got those over and in, I kind of got more comfortable and in a groove, a little more aggressive with my deep serves and my short serves.

“We had a lot of energy [during that run]. We were all building off each other.”

Beam finished with a match-high four aces, all four of them coming during the decisive third-set run that also included kills by Kayli Loonam (9 kills), Haley Swim (match-best 13 kills, 2 blocks) and Audrey Peters (7 kills), most set up by Abigail Carter (25 assists). Emma Gatz (11 assists), libero Emma Mannia (13 digs) and Zoe Kraus (6 digs) also led Kaneland (7-4, 1-0 Interstate 8).

“We made the adjustments we needed to ... but volleyball is a game of energy and momentum,” Knights coach Cyndi Violett said. “Whoever’s got the momentum is going to win. When you have two evenly matched teams, that’s what’s going to happen.

“When you’ve got girls who are going to fight back – we were down, what, [16-8] in the second set? – to have that fight to come back and win is huge. It shows character in them.

“I just wish they’d come out a little stronger.”

For Ottawa, which held on in the opening set thanks largely to three consecutive Ayla Dorsey aces and a well-timed, serve-breaking timeout late by coach Jenn Crum, the 13-5, second-set lead after Ella Damron’s long service run that featured three Mary Stisser kills evaporated. The Pirates’ last advantage in the third set came at 12-9 before Kaneland’s momentum-seizing 10-point run.

“I think we just lost momentum here and there in being consistent,” said Crum, her Pirates now 14-6 overall, 0-1 in the I-8. “I think that’s really what did us in, but it was competitive the whole way. And that’s what we want, right? Show up, play hard, and that’s what we did. It was just the matter of a few points today.

“I was happy with how tonight went. I just wish we could have closed out that middle set when we had that momentum.”

Ayla Dorsey with 19 kills, a stuff block and three aces; Stisser with six kills; Skylar Dorsey with 24 assists and five kills; Damron with three aces, two during her nine-point service run; Ella Schmitz with 14 digs; and libero Ana Zeglis, playing in place of usual starter Kendall Biba, with six digs led Ottawa.

Ottawa is scheduled to visit old North Central Illinois Conference rival Princeton on Thursday before returning to Kingman on Tuesday for its second I-8 match of the season, hosting Morris.

Kaneland heads to the Glenbard West Invitational this weekend ahead of Tuesday’s I-8 home opener against Rochelle.

https://www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley/2024/09/18/girls-volleyball-kaneland-makes-most-of-its-10-point-run-to-score-comeback-win-at-ottawa/