Story and photos by Chet Piotrowski Jr.
Mattoon’s success on the volleyball court is going to be a little different this year.
It’s going to take some craftiness and a touch of grit.
“I don’t think the girl’s performance, so far, speaks to how much potential this group really has,” Mattoon volleyball coach Kayla Quick said after the team took sixth place in the 42nd Mattoon Volleyball Tournament.
Mattoon went 2-3 last week in the tourney, losing to Pana, St. Joe-Ogden, and Monticello) and I think we could have come out on top over Monticello. There were some things that didn’t go our way.”
Mattoon moved to 2-6.
“Monticello has some big girls on their team,” she said. “I think my girls might’ve been a little intimidated like they have been a lot so far ‘We’re just not big as they are; We’re not as tall; we don’t have as much strength’”. For them to come out on top that first set was really exciting for us because (they know) they can do it.”
“This group of girls is scrappy and defensively driven. If we can get those things hammered down, Im super excited to see where they can end up at the end of the season.”
While the Green Wave didn’t capture the tournament championship, their first match against Mt. Vernon exemplified how this team can win.
Amidst a five-point run in the first set against Mt. Vernon Ella Laster drilled a serve down the right line for an ace helping the Green Wave run away with a 7-3 lead.
Mt. Vernon brought it back to within one, but a diving, outstretched dig deep in the Green Wave’s zone by Mattoon’s Lily Maninfior fluttered back into the Rams court falling unattended for a point starting a 6-2 run that included a Teygen Sewell set that was neatly delivered to an unoccupied part of the Ram’s court, and a dig by Ashley Jobe setting up Sewell for a kill.
Quick appeared happy with her girls’ performance, but Rams head coach Sara Crews was not, prompting a timeout to try to stem the tide at 18-13.
Mattoon continued to cruise giving up only one more point before Ashlynne Kuhn made an unthinkable dig at the net setting up a kill for the first set win.
Sewell and Maninfior opened up the second set for Mattoon with back-to-back kills equalizing the score.
Sewell and Allan Brown set up a fantastic wall, blocking a tip by Mt. Vernon’s Kamaree Pollard that even had the referee closely scrutinizing the play.
Kuhn delivered a kill like a cruise missile through the heart of Mt. Vernon’s defense that Pollard couldn’t track that jumpstarted the Green Wave offense that had begun to sputter getting them back on track and stopping an 8-2 Rams run. She followed that one with another, and a Mt. Vernon return that squeamishly rainbowed under the net saw the Green Wave tie the set.
Maninfior came through with another clutch dig that enabled a Mattoon volley into the Rams zone. It appeared to go out of bounds and a Mt. Vernon at first thought against playing it, then went to play it, only to change her mind again just to see the ball fall and drop on her foot first then out of bounds giving the Green Wave a point and 13-11 lead.
Kuhn watched the final volley go over the net, unreturned, and found her teammates to celebrate a two-set opening match win.
Quick noted that this team’s makeup is different than previous years. While she doesn’t have the power at the net, she does have plenty of moving parts to win. It’s on her, admittedly, to find out how to make we have a lot of moving pieces in our puzzle and if you can find those pieces that fit well in certain situations…we’re subbing a lot because we have so many girls that are great at so many things.”
Although the team gave up a three set loss to Pana in their second tournament match, Quick wasn’t concerned because they showed her the resolve needed to win.
“There was some frustration in making an error, but one of the things that we’ve been preaching in the gym is not compounding those mistakes,” she said. “One doesn’t need to turn to two to four. One of the things we’ve learned from that Pana set is you can pull yourself ouf of those mental funks; you can make better touches on the ball. Although it was a loss, it wasn’t one I was upset with simply because they did show me that grit when things get tough.”
NOTES: Sewell was named to the all-tournament team.
“She is, I’m kinda thinking of her as our little secret weapon,” Quick said. “When you look at her, you don’t see a powerful front row hitter. She doesn’t jump very much; she doesn’t present that way. But when you get her in a match, she surprises people. That’s one of the things I love about her. I have every confidence in the world in that girl. When she starts to really buck up and perform in game situations, other teams start to think “Oh boy, we have to watch out with this one!”
Quick noted that Sewell’s biggest strengths to the team is her willingness to never quit and her high volleyball IQ.
“That’s what I love about her – she’s such a strong-willed girl,” she said. “She never quits. She makes hard swings on the ball. When she’s not doing well swinging away, she is by far my best asset on finding holes on the other side of the floor. She’s smart. Her volleyball IQ is through the roof. She knows how to make the other team work hard.”
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