Despite loss, Chargers making progress

Above: Aurora Central's Casey Regnier hits the floor as she tries to keep the ball alive during Wednesday's match. RIght: Aurora Central's Sam Cowles bumps the ball for the Chargers, who lost in two games.
Terence Guider-Shaw/special to the beacon news

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AURORA - For the Aurora Central Catholic volleyball team, playing in the Suburban Catholic Conference has been a daunting task. But the Lady Chargers are making strides.

While Aurora Central was defeated 25-19, 25-16 by Immaculate Conception here Wednesday evening, gone are the days of the blowouts. In fact, with a tad more enthusiasm the Lady Chargers may have pulled off an upset.

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"Our intensity got down after we were down a few points because we dug ourselves a hole," said sophomore Natalie Steinwart. "Everybody was just kind of down tonight. I think we could have tried a little harder and picked up our intensity."

ACC led 4-3 in the first game, but the Lady Knights tallied seven of the next eight points for a 10-5 advantage. Danielle Remy started the rally with a kill and Mary Kate Manion followed with a tip over the net for a point. Rachel Miller, another ACC sophomore, answered with a spike but three ACC errors and a pair of kills by Immaculate Conception (13-5 overall, 3-4 SCC) led to the five-point cushion.

Manion finished with four kills in the first game, including a blast which provided an 18-14 lead. Miller had three kills in Game 1 while Steinwart and Lauren Buba notched two kills each for the Lady Chargers (10-11, 1-6).

The Lady Chargers slipped into an insurmountable hole in Game 2, falling behind 11-3. Manion garnered three kills in that span and ACC never recovered.

"The offensive output that we've had this season is the best since I've been here," said ACC coach Randy Hewitt. "We scored 35 points against a team that went to state last year. We've been playing the upper level of our conference a lot better this year. Last year we were losing 25-5, 25-7."

The Lady Knights opened up a 19-8 margin, but the Lady Chargers closed the gap with five straight points behind the serves of Kristin Brouch. Kills by Remy and Judith Morris ended the rally.

"Program wide we are being much more competitive in the conference, and when we're fortunate enough to step out of conference for a weekend we usually have fun," Hewitt said.

Buba scored two kills in the second game and Sam Cowles added a pair of kills. Stephanie Pogwizd also had a kill for the Lady Chargers in Game 2 while Miller had a block for a point.

"We wanted to keep them off balance as much as we could," said Immaculate Conception coach Jean Field. "He's (Hewitt) done a really nice job of bringing the program around here at Aurora Central, so you can't take them for granted."

Now that's progress. Girls Volleyball: Immaculate Conception Def. Aurora Central 25-19, 25-16