Area Roundup: Morris volleyball team sweeps Ottawa

MORRIS — The Morris volleyball team continued its strong play Thursday night with a 25-8, 25-16 win over Interstate Eight Conference rival Ottawa.

Sophomore Ava Smith led Morris (16-9, 7-3) with eight kills, while Katherine Halcomb added four. Jaelyn Wiers had a team-high 10 digs.

“We are playing very well right now,” Morris coach Scott Howell said. “Jaelyn Wiers has taken over at libero for us and gives us a little more speed and quickness on the floor. We have caught fire since she has taken the libero spot.

“What is nice about our girls is that, when they make a mistake, they look at me and tell me that they know what they did wrong. Then, they don’t make that same mistake again.”

Morris was recently awarded the fifth seed in the Class 3A Joliet Catholic Academy Sectional. The top four seeds are JCA, Marian Catholic, Lemont and Providence Catholic.

Volleyball

Seneca 23-25-25, Roanoke-Benson 25-12-14: Zoe Hougas had a big night for the Lady Irish (14-5) with 18 kills and Emma Smith added 12.

Coal City 29-25, Streator 27-21: Addyson Waliczek led Coal City (15-11, 8-3) to the Illinois Central Eight win with 11 assists, eight digs, five kills and a block, while Macaya Garner had 10 assists, six digs, two aces and a kill. Mia Rodriguez had eight kills, two digs, a block, and an ace, while Courtney Meyer had five kills and two blocks and Gwen Wharrie had four kills and three digs. Grace Norris had a team-high 12 digs to go with an ace, while Maci Baldauf had 11 digs and Addison Gagliardo had nine digs and two aces.

West Aurora 20-25-25, Minooka 25-21-22: Ashlyn Bercynski had 18 digs to lead the Indians, while Jada Hampton had six blocks and four kills, while Anna Baranski had five blocks and eight kills.

Newark 25-25, Hiawatha 14-7: Newark (18-5) got 10 kills from Megan Williams in the Little Ten Conference Tournament, while Lauren Ulrich had 17 assists and K.J. Friestad added five kills.