Sandburg downs Stagg in rivalry game

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:20PM

Being in sync was not the order of the day when Sandburg and Stagg had their annual District 230 meeting Tuesday in Orland Park.

There were a lot of net violations. A few other strange rulings. At one point the official scorebook got all jazzed up, resulting in Sandburg having to "win" Game 2 twice.

"I don't know. The calls were all over the place, but we were all over the place, too," senior Jenny Buczek said with a laugh after Sandburg "officially" prevailed 25-14, 25-17.

Buczek had six kills and 11 assists, Kara Kentner seven kills, Kendra Mikuta 10 digs and Genna Pavone 10 assists as the No. 9 Eagles improved to 2-2.

Jill Conrad (six service points, four assists, two blocks), Donata Taskunaite (three kills, two blocks) and Alexa Janus (six digs, six service points) led Stagg (3-5).

The match did not count toward the SouthWest Suburban Conference standings, nor was it scheduled by the SWSC as a crossover. The two schools met, basically, to maintain their district rivalry.

No one had as much fun as Buczek, who was allowed to set by Eagles coach David Vales for the first time this season.

"She was my No. 1 outside for three years," Vales said. "We wanted to move her back to her natural spot on the right side, but I thought we had other options for setting.

"We'll continue to see what works the best. For tonight, you got to see Jenny for two games. There were some nice stretches there where she made some good choices."

Buczek, a hitting catalyst in Game 1 with three kills during a 14-1 Sandburg run, said she'll be ready whenever and wherever.

"I would like to be a setter, but whatever works for the team best," Buczek said.

As he did during the weekend Lyons quad, Vales went deep into the bench for hitting combinations. Eight different players had kills.

"There is so much potential here," Buczek said. "We're just trying new lineups right now, doing the whole ‘McAuley' thing. We're not being concerned about how we're doing now. We'll get concerned when it's important, late in the season."

Stagg has had problems just staying healthy. Outside hitter Ali Conrad and defensive specialist Morgan Thomas have missed time because of injuries, and defensive specialist Katie Merigold is out with vertigo symptoms. Tuesday, setter Emily Santos turned her right ankle during a scramble at the net.

The Chargers led Game 1 early at 5-1, and stayed with Sandburg until the late stages of Game 2, but really didn't establish an offensive rhythm.

"I hate to use things as an excuse, but we have a young team," Stagg coach Shannan Sisk said. "We've had injuries and haven't all played together. But we've got to find a way to play together as a team.

"We execute in practice, but we don't translate any of that onto the floor. We really need to work on our youngsters being leaders, and that's something that's going to take time."

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