Craig volleyball in control all the way
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JANESVILLE — A quick start and a staunch defense fueled Janesville Craig’s girls volleyball team Thursday night.
The Cougars jumped all over crosstown rival Janesville Parker in the first game and never let up in sweeping the host Vikings, 3-0, in a Big Eight Conference match.
Craig won by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-7 in improving to 2-4 in the conference.
Parker (1-5) did not have a lead in the first or third games, and the Vikings never led by more than two points in the second game. The Cougars were that dominant.
“There’s always a lot of pride at stake when Craig and Parker play, and getting off to a fast start in game one was really important for us tonight,” Craig coach Blake Budrow said.
“The key for us all season has been consistency. If we’re consistent, we can play with anybody. And if we’re not, we’re going to get beat. Tonight we were consistent from start to finish.”
The Cougars jumped out to an 11-4 lead in game one before the Vikings rallied to cut the deficit to 17-16. Craig scored seven of the next eight points before finally putting the game away.
Parker, which won the Delavan-Darien tournament last weekend, got a little momentum going in game two but could not sustain it. The Vikings led 6-4 early and 12-11 before Craig’s Ashley Kamholz scored five straight points on her serve to give her team a 17-12 lead.
The Vikings never recovered in game two and were a no-show in game three as the Cougars built an early 11-2 lead.
After watching his young team play well the last three weeks, Parker coach Dave Lehmann was at a loss in trying to explain his team’s lethargic play against its rival.
“We just did not play well tonight, and it’s very frustrating,” Lehmann said. “We’ve been playing well and practicing well, but tonight we had an off night. And that’s really disappointing for that to happen against Craig.
“But give them credit. They played well tonight.”
Amber Bovenmyer and Kelsey Kennedy led the Cougars’ offensive attack.
Bovenmyer had 16 kills, while Kennedy kept the ball in play and finished with 37 assists.
Paige Demos had 12 kills for Parker, but many of those came in the first game. Budrow made an adjustment on the front row after that game to put an extra blocker on Demos and it paid off.
CRAIG 3, PARKER 0
Janesville Craig 25 25 25
Janesville Parker 22 19 7
Craig (aces, kills, assists)—Cassie Marsh, 0-8-0; Ceila Hansen, 1-0-0; Regan Sitorius, 2-1-0; Kelsey Kennedy, 2-1-37; Erica Mortensen, 0-7-0; Michelle Straw, 0-4-0; Cheviah Volbright, 0-1-0; Daisy Cedillo, 1-0-0; Ashley Kamholz, 7-2-0; Emma Becher, 2-2-3; Emily Hinman, 0-2-0; Amber Bovenmyer, 2-16-0.
Parker (aces, kills, digs, assists)—Paige Demos, 0-12-0-0; Jackie Ludois, 0-0-4-0; Danyel Uschan, 0-1-3-13; Amber Benedict, 1-0-4-0; Sarah Krauter, 0-3-1-0; Erika Whitson, 0-0-4-0; Sami Shelton, 0-7-1-0; Kayla Brennan, 0-0-0-1; Lindsey Hoff, 3-0-7-0; Anna Dubanowich, 0-0-0-1; Ashley Hartwig, 1-7-0-1; Nicole Popovich, 1-0-8-0; Kari Krauter, 0-1-2-0; Katie Godding, 0-9-1-1; Ashley Ross, 1-0-4-8.
Junior varsity—Parker won 2-1.
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