Too much Trojans

BY MIKE CUNNIFF
Herald Sports Writer DWIGHT - The record-setting season continues. Behind 18 kills from senior middle hitter Carly Perschnick and 25 assists from junior setter Kolby Hoffman, the Dwight Lady Trojans posted a 25-16 and 25-11 victory over the Coal City Lady Coalers in Interstate Eight Conference crossover volleyball at Kresl Memorial Gymnasium. Shortly after the Dwight first graders sang The National Anthem to kick off the night, the Lady Trojans took control. An ace by Coal City senior right front Kelsey Mikula gave the Lady Coalers a short-lived 3-1 edge before a sideout kill by Perschnick sent junior Chaney Tambling to the serving stripe. Tambling rattled off five points that included a pair of kills by Perschnick (a left-handed tip and a wrap-around out of the right front) before Tambling double aced. Action went back and forth until a kill out of the center slot by Perschnick once again put Tambling at the line. Tambling, who led the Lady Trojans with 17 points on the night, stretched the Dwight advantage to 17-9 with a trio of markers that included two serves that were not returned (although double touched, so no ace). An ace by senior outside hitter Mallorie Kennedy that followed a kill by Perschnick, gleaned two points to make it 23-15. After a long hit turned it over, a sideout kill tip by Tambling got serve back. Hoffman ended it with the fourth ace of the game for the Lady Trojans. “Dwight has some pretty good players and some strong hitters,” pointed out Coal City coach Gina Horrie. “They don't have just one hitter that they rely job. They did a nice job tonight with their big hitter (Perschnick) but also got kills from several other people.” The Lady Trojans wound up with 31 kills overall. Hoffman had 4 and Tambling a trio. Senior setter Amie Hogan, Gracyn Leskanich and Kennedy provided 2 each. “I thought this was one of our best matches of the season,” said Dwight coach Coreen Perschnick, after the Lady Trojans became 26-6. That once again bettered the previous school record for wins in a season, set during a 24-7-2 campaign in 2007. “I thought we handled the ball well,” added Perschnick. “Even sometimes when we hit the ball out, we got our passes to set up the hit. And I thought our defense played very well and that's what I want to see. We have been working on our defense for the last couple of weeks in practice. Our main drills have involved defense. I have told the team we need to take it (defense) to the next level. And the best part was, everyone contributed.” After notching 7 kills in the opening game, Carly Perschnick matched that number as Dwight bolted out to an 8-1 lead in the nightcap. Perschnick had a sideout kill to, once again, send Tambling to the stripe. Perschnick then had 6 successive kills, including a down tip on an overpass plus a whistling kill on another overpass. After a low hit by the Lady Coalers, senior Courtney Delach and Perschnick exchanged sideouts. Gracyn Leskanich wedged the Lady Trojans advantage out to 16-4 with a quartet of markers that included kills by Hoffman and Tambling. It took another rotation to end it with Kennedy closing it out with a cross-court kill out of the right front. “The girls have been coming in and working hard,” said coach Perschnick. “We have some goals and we are finally a happy team. They know defense is what we really have to work on. But Carly had a good night digging, Chaney had a great night serving and Alicia (Runyon) played huge as the libero.” Leskanich and Runyon provided 6 digs apiece. Kellee Mahaffay had 6 of Coal City's 13 kills with Brittni Manietta adding a trio. Senior libero Devon Bernard was credited with 11 digs as the Lady Coalers tumbled to 17-10. “Our passing was a little off,” said Horrie. Coal City will now travel to Sandwich on Tuesday. Dwight will travel to Herscher the same day.
Sophomores Coal City def. Dwight 25-19, 25-22 A dozen kills and 3 blocks by Tab Dabulskis along with 19 assists from Brittany Halliday enabled the Lady Coalers to improve to 13-7-1. Halliday etched 11 service points while Erica Gregurich and Jessica Smith added 4 each. Shelby St. Cin had 3. Kaitlyn Jacob provided 5 kills while Smith and Gregurich had a pair each. Halliday and Meg Marlin were credited with 6 digs and St. Cin 5. Brea Lewis had 4 while Gregurich and Melissa Kwiecien contributed 3 each. Halliday accounted for 2 aces. “Tab was really on tonight,” said coach Jen Munsterman. “She helped us out a lot with her hard hits.” Holly Gaston had 5 kills, 2 blocks and 11 digs for Dwight (3-9). Lindie McCarthy had 2 kills, 10 assists 2 points, 1 ace and 5 digs. Kaitlyn Colebank had 7 kills, 8 points, 4 aces and 2 digs. Becca Cain had 2 points and 7 digs. Kate Pfeifer added 6 points, 2 aces and 7 digs. Mallorie Rosales chipped in with 3 digs while Alli Hogan had an assist and Jill Murphy a block. Sam Rybacki added 2 points with an ace.