The varsity Falcons upended Cross Lutheran School of Yorkville 25-16, 25-6 while the junior varsity won its final match of the season 25-11, 25-18 on Monday at Faith Christian Academy. Well done, Falcons, in our final doubleheader of the volleyball season!
Mrs. Weeks and I are extremely proud of the girls for their sterling season record of 34 victories and 6 losses, putting this year's Falcons within one victory of the school's single-season wins record of 35 set in 2001. Much more importantly, we are even prouder of the girls' growth as a team, their individual improvement as players and their development as teammates dedicated to supporting one another, playing true team volleyball and shining on the court the talents and character that Christ has instilled in them. What a fantastic group and a fun and fantastic season!
The varsity squad (19-4) started slowly but found its groove midway through the first set thanks in part to 9-for-9 serving with an ace and two service winners along with seven passes to setter from Lauren Caprini, eight assists and 4-for-4 serving from Anneliese Lockner and eight kills and three passes to setter by Gigi Crescenzo.
FCA cruised to a second set win behind flawless 25-for-25 serving from Anneliese (3 for 3), Anna Verhage (4 for 4), Corrin Schulze (12 for 12) and Jess Chiaro (6 for 6). Outstanding serving, Falcons!
Corrin earned the hustle award for doing a great job of bouncing back from a slow start in the second set, maintaining her composure and turning in a terrific serving performance to spur the team to victory. Anneliese Lockner earned the best attitude award for giving the team a strong all-around performance with nine assists, 7-for-7 serving, two digs and four passes to setter. Liz Watson also earned special mention for giving the team a lift off the bench!
The fourth- to seventh-grade JV squad (15-2) played some of its best volleyball of the season in its victory in the nightcap. FCA delivered a season-high 18 passes to setter; by comparison, the JV had 3 passes to setter against Cross Lutheran on Sept. 16.
After missing four weeks of action due to a broken finger, the Falcons were thrilled to welcome Paige Petty back to the court for her first match since the start of October. Paige got FCA off to a fast start, going 11 for 11 serving with an ace and nine service winners for a 10-0 first-set lead. Mackenzie VanDerSnick added 7 for 7 serving with an ace and four service winners, and Faith used solid passing to deliver 12 passes to setter and keep pushing the ball back to Cross Lutheran's court throughout a great opening set.
"Amazing" Grace Hansen then provided outstanding 9 for 9 serving with an ace and seven service winners that helped FCA overcome a 13-10 deficit en route to the second set win and the match. Paige earned the best attitude award while Julia Turek won the hustle award.
The Falcons' LSA state tournament team caps FCA's regular-season schedule with a home match against Immanuel Lutheran of East Dundee. The match starts at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the friendly confines of Faith.
