Girls volleyball: Woodland middles come up big in come-from-behind win over Serena

RURAL STREATOR – Serena looked absolutely overpowering in the early going Tuesday night at Woodland’s Warrior Dome.

As the match played on, though, it was the host Warriors who powered up, eventually scoring a 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, nonconference victory over the Huskers.

Senior setter Shae Simons tallied 29 assists for Woodland, most of those going to her middles, Grace Longmire (13 kills) and Malayna Pitte (match-best 15 kills). The Warriors only had four kills by other players, including one from Cloee Johnston on the third rally of the night that sent her to the floor and then the sideline for the remainder with an apparent ankle injury.

“[Serena] got that fast start on us, and we know we need that, so we were just trying to hype ourselves up and get back into it.”

—  Malayna Pitte, Woodland girls volleyball senior

Woodland’s 28 combined kills from its middles, however, joined with a strong service attack led by Elizabeth Schultz (five aces) and Simons (three kills) and the always-scrappy Warriors back-row defense led by Kaiden Connor (12 digs), Jaylei Leininger (eight digs) and Gabby Jacobs (six digs) were enough to get the win for Woodland (6-4).

“It was great energy tonight,” Pitte said. “That crowd. Big crowds always get us going. That’s mainly what it was, and our student section was great.

“[Serena] got that fast start on us, and we know we need that, so we were just trying to hype ourselves up and get back into it.”

For Serena (3-3), Makayla McNally notched seven kills, three aces and five stuff blocks; Paisley Twait tallied eight kills and two ace serves; Kendall Whiteaker had seven kills, two blocks and three aces; and Macy Mahler recorded nine digs to go with her 18 assists.

“It was one of those where we started losing seams, started getting out of place, out of position, and as soon as we thought we had [the ball], we were off by just a little bit,” Serena coach Jen Shugrue said. “[Woodland was] dynamite at picking things up. Their defense was so good, and just when we thought we had it, they were picking it up and sending it back over. ...

“But we did have some really great blocks, though. Our frontline was doing a real nice job of reading, of getting up and getting touches. It’s something they have been working on, so I was happy to see that.”

The Huskers led throughout the opening set until late, when a Woodland rally sparked by a Simons ace and kills from Longmire and Ella Derossett briefly gave the hosts the lead at 23-22. A McNally block tied it back up, and two quick service points from Macy Mahler, one an ace, later and Serena snuck out the opening-set victory.

That comeback momentum seemed to carry over for Woodland, however, and the Warriors only trailed once — 6-4 early in the third set — the rest of the evening. Pitte slammed home the winners of both the second and rubber sets, the last one a rocket to the floor for a victory on Woodland’s “Volley for Our Heroes Night,” which honors players’ personal inspirations such as veterans, nurses, firefighters and police officers.

“Our girls were all-in for tonight,” Woodland coach Michelle Pitte said, “especially for the Volley for Our Heroes. It was a special night, and they wanted that. When Cloee went down, it put a damper on the team, 100%, because she’s a big, big source for our team, but they stepped in and fought hard, didn’t stop one time.

“They’re that team that will push through anything. They’ve been doing that the whole entire season. They don’t stop.”

Woodland is scheduled to host Leland on Wednesday. Serena visits Illinois Math and Science Academy on Thursday.