Spartan Volleyball Keeps Rolling

coach Chris Cooper may not be able to pinpoint exactly why his girls volleyball team is playing better at this point in the season, he’s happy that they've improved.

picked up its eighth win in a row by beating 25-15, 25-18 in a Central Suburban League North match Monday night in Northbrook.

Cooper acknowledged that his Spartans are playing better than they did at the beginning of the year, but hasn’t sorted out why there’s been such an improvement.

“I really don’t know,” Cooper said. “I think we’ve been playing more of the same kids and they’ve been getting a little bit more comfortable.

“We’ve gotten into the part of our schedule where there’s a lot of matches that our girls believe that they can and should win," he added.

The Spartans (11-5, 3-0) are also producing a balanced attack. Middle hitter Sarah Winter led the way against the Giants with seven kills and a pair of blocks, but sophomores Kate Kamin (5 kills), Lauren Emmert (4 kills) and junior Patricia Hare (3 kills, 2 aces) also contributed.

jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first game behind three kills from Winter. The Giants couldn’t get closer than three points and then an 8-1 run that featured two more kills and a block from Winter sealed the game at 25-15 to the Spartans.

“I was especially excited about it being a conference match,” Winter said. “I know everyone on the team was pumping each other up to play well against .”

hung tough in game two behind strong play from freshman Stela Kukoc and junior Maxi Mottlowitz, but the Spartans broke a 15 all tie with a 7-0 run.

“(Kukoc) is very athletic and she wants to play the ball,” coach Beth Peterson said. “She gets in there and she competes. She has a solid serve and she’s acclimated pretty well to the varsity level.

“We just need to find a way to get her some more sets at the net because she can dominate at the net--it just didn’t work that way tonight.”

The Giants (4-14, 1-2) were missing a few players due to injuries and illness and are still trying to find the missing pieces needed to string some wins together. Peterson said her team needs to play smarter.

“We’ve had some bumps, but I think we have a lot of potential,” she said. “We have some young players and I just think we’re a few steps away from really making a difference in the season.”

The Spartans continue a stretch of three matches in three days at Tuesday before returning to conference play against Wednesday.