Must Watch Matches for Chicagoland High School Volleyball: Week 9

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is officially the last week of the regular season for Illinois volleyball. Some program schedules have a heavy end to their regular season match-ups and others are tapering before the first round of regionals. For the teams mentioned here, tapering is not on their agenda and they are looking for one last win in their last regular season matches. Here are the top two matches and players to watch as we head into the final week of regular season play for Chicagoland high school volleyball:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Match 1:</strong> <em>Bolingbrook vs. Lincoln-Way East Tues. 10/18 at 5:30 pm</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first-place Bolingbrook High school and second-place Lincoln-Way East in the Southwest Suburban Conference will battle it out tonight in a match hosted by Bolingbrook. As their record season continues to unfold, Bolingbrook's program high for wins in a season has officially hit 28 wins and tonight they're looking to add to that record. Last season, history was made by taking the regional title for the first time in program history, so setting goals and hitting them is something Bolingbrook is very familiar with and committed to doing. Both Bolingbrook and Lincoln-Way East are undefeated in conference play right now with Bolingbrook's conference record being 8-0 and Lincoln-Way East's being 7-0. [player_tooltip player_id='225768' first='Madison' last='Shroba'], a senior outside hitter for Bolingbrook holds the upper hand in multiple statistical categories when it comes to offensive production compared to Lincoln-Way East hitters. The Lewis University commit averages 4.4 kills per set with 310 kills on the season, which shows exactly how efficient she is. Jada James, an outside hitter for Lincoln-Way East will be the hitter to worry about on the other side of the net, as she leads the team with an average of 3.2 kills per set and has the most kills for East with 237 kills on the season. Jada has a very natural and quick arm swing which has the potential to rack up a high number of kills in her matches simply because of how fast she gets on the ball. The serve and pass game is going to be the most important part of the match tonight as Bolingbrook's serving is far more efficient and lethal than you might see from Lincoln-Way East. Junior setter, Sarah Harvey currently leads Bolingbrook in aces on the season with 56, and trailing behind her by one is [player_tooltip player_id='225768' first='Madison' last='Shroba'] with 55 aces on the season. Both players have serves that get on passers fast, making it hard for passers to make platform decisions to put up a quality pass. [player_tooltip player_id='225756' first='Ava' last='Nepkin'], a senior outside for Lincoln-Way East is the third-highest in aces on the season for the match-up tonight with 37 aces. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://poll.fm/11222614","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"crowdsignal","responsive":true,"align":"center"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/11222614 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontSize":"18px"}}} --> <p style="font-size:18px"><strong>Match 2:</strong> <em>Oswego East vs. Minooka Thurs. 10/20 at 5:30 pm</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Minooka will be hosting Oswego East this coming Thursday for both of the team's last regular season matches prior to heading into playoffs next week. Oswego East is currently on a 10-game winning streak and is looking to extend that as a strong finish to their regular season play. As the 1st place team in the Southwest Prairie Conference, Oswego is 9-0 in the conference and 24-5 overall on the season. Minooka is looking to chip some points and sets off Oswego East in the match this Thursday and I believe senior, middle blocker, Kara Schaack and junior outside hitter, Makenzie Brass will be the difference makers in the match. Kara Schaack is a 6-foot middle blocker whose dynamic lateral movements help her close almost every block she is working too close to. Schaack leads the team and all front-row players in the match Thursday in total blocks on the season with 98. As Schaack will be leading the frontcourt defense for Minooka, Makenzie Brass will take control of the offense on the outside. Brass is leading the team in kills on the season with 131 kills, averaging about 2 kills a set. Oswego East's, senior outside hitter Megan Maier will be the main attacker Minooka is going to look to slow down as she averages 3.5 kills per set. The Lincoln Memorial University commit leads the team in kills for the season with 233, but her performance and contribution to the team doesn't stop there. Maier averages 1.0 aces per set, currently holding the highest number of aces for this season at Oswego East with 67 aces. The main goal for Minooka will be always keeping an eye on where Maier is on the court as she can score from almost everywhere. [player_tooltip player_id='225994' first='Cailyn' last='Smiley'], another senior outside for Oswego East who will be another offensive factor that Minooka will have to keep an eye on, as Smiley's second on the team for kills per set with an average of 3.3k/s. Cailyn is also second on the team for kills this season, currently at 208, and looking to add more in each match she finishes in her senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->