Batavia v'ball looks for consistency on 'O'

BATAVIA – Batavia's 25-14, 25-14 Western Sun Conference volleyball victory against Rochelle on Tuesday played nearly as symmetrically as the final score.

The Bulldogs remained tied with the Hubs through 7-7 in both games before pulling away thanks to its back row.

"We started picking up more balls defensively and that really sparked our game," Bulldogs coach Lori Trippi-Payne said. "We passed pretty well and picked it up."

Stephanie Kinane had seven digs and often distributed the ball to Mary Nilles, who finished with 13 assists. Still, no Bulldogs hitter truly took charge. Caitlyn Piechota had five kills, Kelsey VandenBorn added four and Kristen Koncelik, a freshman, smacked three.

"We did what we needed to do when we had to, and that's how we pulled away," Trippi-Payne said. "But I still want to see more energy and consistency from our offense. It was really looking good last week against Kaneland but it was just all right tonight."