Volleyball: Crystal Lake Central withstands match point, beats Burlington Central to stay perfect in FVC

CRYSTAL LAKE – One point away from its first loss of the season, it’s no surprise who Crystal Lake Central leaned on.

Seniors Mykaela Wallen and Siena Smiejek have been involved in a lot of big points throughout their high school careers.

And it was the senior duo who powered the Tigers past Burlington Central 19-25, 26-24, 25-14 in their Fox Valley Conference match Thursday.

After three consecutive points by Burlington Central – the first on a kill by Leah Freesemann, second on an ace by Brianna Gritzman and third on a kill by Julia Johnson – gave the Rockets a 24-23 lead in the second set and moved them a point away from a two-set victory, Wallen and Smiejek took over.

Wallen tied the match at 24 with a kill, followed by back-to-back points by Smiejek, who raised her arms after the set-clincher as her teammates swarmed her at the net to celebrate a thrilling second set.

The Tigers (5-0 overall, 4-0 FVC) kept that momentum going into the third to remain unbeaten and move a win ahead of the Rockets (4-1, 3-1) in the FVC standings. The second set was a back-and-forth battle with neither team giving in.

“They’re a great team, they have really strong serves, strong hitters, everything,” Smiejek said of Burlington Central. “We just had to play our game and up to our level. Slowing the game down on our side so we can fire on all cylinders.

“My setters [Becca Kuehn and Izzy Lampier] did a great job, and everyone did a great job. It’s really fun to compete with them.”

Smiejek, who is committed to UNC Greensboro, finished with nine kills, six digs and two blocks. Wallen also had nine kills and added 11 digs. Eight of their combined 18 kills came in the second set with the match on the line.

Central coach Amy Johnson wasn’t surprised they led the way.

“That’s just par for the course for them,” Johnson said. “They’re just going to compete, and I think this group just kind of hops on their back. And that’s what they did, they all just competed like crazy out there. It was such a high-level competitive game, and those are the types of games you want to be in, especially early. We know we’re going to have other games like this.”

Wallen felt the team regrouped well after dropping the first set – the first time this year the Tigers have lost a set.

“Last practice we talked about our team values and how are team mentality was putting each other first and really playing for our side,” Wallen said. “Really trying to encourage each other, and I feel like that was going on out there. Everybody was doing their job and helping everybody else do their job.”

The Rockets were fired up early on and did not back down against a Tigers team determined to win conference after back-to-back runner-up finishes.

Burlington Central coach Julia Smagacz felt her side was a little deflated after an exhausting second set.

“I think in the end it came down to us just being a little too safe,” Smagacz said. “We just wanted to not mess up, and we kind of did that to sacrifice our aggressiveness a little bit. Third set, the game plan kind of broke down a little bit and frustration kind of set in. But I told them, [Crystal Lake Central] is one of the top teams in our conference. [Class] 3A, they’re in the top 10 right now. If you’re going to go down and you take a set from them, that’s nothing to scoff at.”

Burlington Central had a balanced attack, with Johnson and Freesemann both collecting seven kills. Peyton Strout and Haidyn Schatz (11 digs) both chipped in six kills. Tiernan Naus had 13 assists, Sarah Jack had six assists and Brianna Gritzman added 10 digs.

Smagacz thought Strout, who is returning from a torn ACL, really stood out.

“Especially in that first set, that first timeout that they called, I’m like, ‘Peyton Strout has caused half our points right now,’ ” Smagacz said. “She’s blocking, she’s hitting, and she’s having a really great start to the season.”

On the other side, Johnson felt middle blockers Emily Mazza (five blocks) and Olivia Doppke (seven kills, three blocks) were difference makers. Kuehn had a big night as well, with 16 assists, four aces and two blocks.

Johnson was impressed by the play of the Rockets.

“I think it’s obvious, they’re a really good physical team,” she said. “Not only with their size, but I think they have a lot of strong people in every position. There was really no rotation that we could take lightly out there.”