Minooka volleyball outlasts Plainfield South in 3 sets

CHANNAHON – Courtney Walter doesn’t look or play volleyball like the sophomore that she is. She does, however, play like a very good outside hitter. That’s pretty impressive considering she has spent most of her career as a middle and just recently was moved to the outside.

Walter, Minooka’s 6-foot outside/middle, delivered a match-high nine kills and her difficult-to-return serve helped provide the Indians with the winning edge Tuesday in an 15-25, 25-11, 25-15 senior night victory over Southwest Prairie Conference rival Plainfield South.

“In the second and third sets, our passes were better than they were in the first set and the sets went where the hitters wanted them,” Walter said. “We work well together and we able to bring our energy up after losing that set and play as a team.

“I like to hit the ball hard, and my setters [Kendall Kozak and Jalynn Scaggs] and libero [Kira Cailteux] did a good job of telling me whether to hit it crosscourt or down the line. I just did what they said.”

Walter’s ability to take coaching like that has been impressive to Minooka coach Carrie Prosek.

“Courtney has always been a middle,” Prosek said. “When we moved her to the outside, I had to stand next to her on the court and physically hold her back because she wanted to get up there and attack right away like a middle does. An outside can take their time a little more, and that took some getting used to.

“Even now, if she makes a mistake, she will look right to the bench so she can be told how to correct it. She listens well and wants to keep improving.”

In the first set, it was all Plainfield South, despite missing head coach Michelle Altes-Kirby, who was absent due to being a teacher in Lockport and having parent-teacher conferences.

The Cougars (15-14, 4-6) got out of the gates quickly, using a six-point serving run by Carolina Trifonov to grab a 9-3 lead and assume control of the set. Minooka never got closer than four points at 11-7 as South cruised to the win. Grace Malek had four of her six kills in the first set, while Savannah Stepanek had four of her five kills in the set.

“We came out with great energy,” South assistant coach Robert Majka said. “We have done that a lot this year, but the key is keeping our energy up the entire match. In the second and third sets, our passing killed us and our communication on the court broke down.

“If we can keep the intensity up for an entire match, we can give teams a lot of problems. We have the pieces. We just have to put it all together for an entire match.”

Minooka (17-16, 7-3) turned the tables in the second set. Walter broke a 6-6 tie with a kill, then served two points for a 9-6 lead. The Indians got a kill and a block by Giada Schrementi, a kill each by Kozak and Kora Kotowski, and an ace by Cailteux to move out to a 16-7 lead and cruised the rest of the way to the 25-11 win to force a third set.

The Cougars tried to squelch the momentum by taking a 4-1 lead to start the third set and led 7-4 before a kill by Ella Carlson, one of her seven on the night got the serve back and Carlson then delivered two straight aces to tie the score 7-7 before a South hitting error and a block by Addison Cieselski put Minooka ahead 9-7.

The Indians continued to build on the lead, and an ace by Cailteux put them ahead 14-9. South pulled to within 15-11 before a kill by Carlson, an ace by Cameron Garcia a hitting error and a kill by Walter put them ahead 19-11. An ace by Walter and a kill by Kozak (seven kills) ended the match.

“I am proud of the way we came through and got the win tonight,” Prosek said. “But we still need to start with better energy. When we’ve played tough teams like JCA or Joliet West this year, we have come out and battled from the start. Hopefully, this match will help us turn the corner and come out with energy from the start.”