Must Watch Matches for Chicagoland High School Volleyball: Week 6

The matches this week might look slightly different compared to games to watch weeks prior. Two Chicagoland programs will host competitive matches with programs from out of state. Mother McAuley will host nationally ranked Assumption High School on Thursday. That same night Benet Academy will be hosting Skutt Catholic, which is ranked third in all of Nebraska's high school programs. Here are the top three matches to watch as we head into week 6 of gameplay:   Match 1: Timothy Christian vs. Chicago Christian Tues. 9/27 at 6:30 pm   To open the week up, Chicago Christian and Timothy Christian are matched up for tonight, which will be hosted in Elmhurst by Timothy Christian. This match will be a huge battle between the pin hitters for both sides of the net. Chicago Christians experienced outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='225849' first='Delanie' last='Grevengoed'], who is anticipated to take the lead on offense for the match. The senior Appalacian State commit has a quick arm swing which, combined with her height, helps her place the ball anywhere she sees open court. More often than not, Delanie puts away double-digit kills each match which shows how experienced she is and how she contributes to Chicago Christian's success this season and their 17-4 record. To assist in Gevengoed's success, a senior setter, [player_tooltip player_id='225831' first='Keely' last='Colyer'] does a great job finding her hot hitters and putting them in the best position to produce offensively. Colyer's neutral posture and finish on her sets make her hard to read which leads to her own offensive production as a front-row setter. On the other side of the net, sophomore outside hitter, Abby VanderWal will be the primary offensive producer for Timothy Christian. VanderWal leads Timothy Christian for kills with 234 but also leads in digs for the team with 145 on the season so far. Averaging 4.9 kills per set, she is found by her setter whether she is in the front row or back row, making her a hitter you have to find as rallies drag out.   Match 2: Benet Academy vs. Skutt Catholic (Omaha, NE) Thurs. 9/29 at 7:00 pm   Benet will host the third-ranked team in the state of Nebraska on Thursday night. Lynney Tarnow, a freshman middle blocker for Benet has taken on a starting role. Not only has she worked her way to a starting position, but she has also become a key impact player in Benet's success. The 6'4" middle blocker puts up a huge wall when closing blocks pin to pin. Her quick lateral movements help her close blocks to slow down the ball for her defenders behind her, but her aggressive transition to make her an option on offense is what has made her become the impact player she is now. Gabby Stasys is a sophomore hitter for Benet that is taking on a different role at this point in the season as a middle blocker. She is very athletic as you can tell from her ability to move to the middle from being an effective pin. Stasys is a 6' hitter who is very quick-twitch assisting in her success as an offensive threat. She is quick to close and has a great ability to track the pass or dig coming from her passers, so she knows when to either speed up her approach or be patient so she can get the most out of her arm swing and explosive jump. Skutt Catholic has an aggressive front row that Benet is going to have to slow down. The main offensive threat for Benet will be Senior outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='59194' first='Morgan' last='Burke']. Burke is a 6' University of Michigan commit that hits a heavy ball anywhere along the front row. Benet will have to work hard to slow her down as the heaviness behind her swings will blow through any block that's closing late to her.   Match 3: Mother McAuley vs. Assumption High School (Louisville, KY) Thurs. 9/29 at 7:00 pm   Mother McAuley and Assumption will be seeing each other for a second time already this season, but this time McAuley will be hosting the match-up on their own home court. [player_tooltip player_id='135954' first='Ellie' last='White'], a junior outside hitter for McAuley is what makes their offense so successful. Producing an average of 6.7 kills per set, she surely is the hitter that her setters try to find no matter where she is on the court. Backing her up and making sure her setters have a great ball to set the hitters, senior libero, [player_tooltip player_id='138650' first='Gigi' last='Navarrete'] leads McAuley with 215 digs on the season and averaging 6.0 digs per set. Navarrete has a very natural read on hitters' body cues and is quick to pick up on a hitter's arm swing making her defensive moves faster to put up quality digs and allowing her to anticipate the ball location. There are no boundaries as to how far Gigi will go to keep a ball alive, which is why her relentless defense is contagious to her teammates around her. Assumption has just as many resources as McAuley, which is why this match is one you won't want to miss this week. [player_tooltip player_id='107417' first='Charlotte' last='Moriarty'], a junior, 6 rotation outside hitter, leads the team in four statistical categories for Assumption. Her lethal connection with senior setter and Forhman University commit, [player_tooltip player_id='106669' first='Whitney' last='Woodrow'], has helped Moriarty lead the team with 236 kills on the season. Woodrow does a great job spreading out the offensive production for Assumption which is what makes them so successful and will put McAuley to the test for the second time this season. The first time Assumption and McAuley met earlier this season down in Louisville, Kentucky, it was a thrilling three-set match that finished in McAuley's favor, so this matchup will be an exciting one.

The matches this week might look slightly different compared to games to watch weeks prior. Two Chicagoland programs will host competitive matches with programs from out of state. Mother McAuley will host nationally ranked Assumption High School on Thursday. That same night Benet Academy will be hosting Skutt Catholic, which is ranked third in all of Nebraska's high school programs. Here are the top three matches to watch as we head into week 6 of gameplay: