Kira Cailteux’s strong serving, defense help Minooka volleyball hold off scrappy Bolingbrook

CHANNAHON – It’s not often that a libero dominates a match.

But that’s what happened Thursday in Minooka’s 25-13, 19-25, 25-20 Southwest Prairie Conference win over Bolingbrook.

Minooka senior Kira Cailteux, one of only six seniors on the 15-player roster, took charge from the beginning.

Early in the first set, she stepped to the service line and promptly delivered three straight aces. Her aggressive serving continued to stymie Bolingbrook as the Raiders made three straight hitting errors to put Minooka (13-9, 4-0) ahead 7-1.

Cailteux came up big on the defensive side as well, delivering several digs and perfect passes on serve receive. Her efforts helped carry Minooka to 12 total aces.

“This was a big win for us,” Cailteux said. “It should really help us make an impact in conference.

“We’re a pretty young team and as one of the seniors, I definitely see myself as one of the leaders. We are a heavy-serving team. When we have the serve, we want to serve it to spots and then go above and beyond that.”

Cailteux finished with five of those aces and led the team with 16 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Courtney Walter had four aces to go with a team-high seven kills. Kendall Kozak had five kills and 19 assists.

“We played well when we needed to,” Minooka coach Carrie Prosek said. “We’re still trying to narrow down our pin hitters, so to win while we are doing that is a bonus.

“Kira Cailteux did a great job on defense, and we are believing in ourselves more and more. Bolingbrook is a good team, and we had a team effort tonight. These girls really respect and encourage each other, and I am very proud of them for coming back after losing that second set.”

Despite getting blown out in the first set, the Raiders (9-8, 2-2) refused to go away quietly. Noelle Aprati (15 kills, 12 digs) and Angelique Pena (seven kills) led the charge in the second set. Minooka led 9-7, but the Raiders rallied behind three kills from Aprati and one from Pena to take a 13-11 lead.

An ace by the Raiders’ Catherine Daniels put them ahead 16-12. The lead stretched to 22-14 before Minooka tightened it a bit with a kill each by Jalynn Staggs and Kozak and a net violation to pull to within 22-17. The Raiders put it away with a kill each by Aprati and Pena.

“Our serve receive has been a struggle all season,” Bolingbrook coach Molly DeSerf said. “We did a much better job in the second and third sets, but if we eliminate a couple of aces, maybe things are different. The girls have been working very hard on it and they’re getting better. Now we have to be more consistent.

“It’s nice to have a player like Noelle Aprati to lean on. Everyone in the gym knows she is going to get the ball, but you still have to stop her. She’s tough to defend. She is a little different from a lot of lefties. She can move the ball around as well as hit it with power. She’s a workhorse for us.

“It wasn’t lack of effort on our part. This is a great group of girls and they have totally bought in. We stress process over product, and we are seeing the process right now.”

The third set was tight early, tied at 8. Minooka then went on a 6-2 spurt, getting a kill each from Kora Kotowski and Kiera Cundari, while Kozak combined with Skaggs and Giada Schrementi for a pair of blocks. That put Minooka ahead 14-10 and it never trailed again.

Bolingbrook trimmed a 23-16 deficit to 23-20 on three kills by Aprati and an ace by Lauren Van Holten before Minooka ended it with a kill by Walter and another by Kotowski.

“In the third set, we just needed to take a deep breath and continue to do what we do well,” Cailteux said. “I’ve never been on a team that all 15 girls can pretty much play anywhere at any time. It’s nice to be a part of.

“We wanted to play clean and let the other team make the mistakes.”