Hawks soar in rematch to down Evanston

By: Luke Drase

After being soundly defeated by Evanston in their first matchup just three weeks ago, Maine South got revenge on their home floor to win the rematch 25-19, 22-25, 25-14.

Set one opened up with neither team being able to jump out to more than a one point lead.

The set was tied at 6, when Maine South finally achieved some breathing room, going on a small run to give them the 10-6 advantage.

That four point lead was all the Hawks needed. Even though set one was marred by errors from both sides, Maine South managed to maintain their three to six point lead throughout to give them set one 25-19.

Unlike the opening frame, set number two, saw Evanston having to play catchup from a much earlier juncture.

Maine South jumped out to 9-4 lead, forcing the Wildkits to call a timeout. The timeout worked as Evanston rallied thanks in large part the an impressive blocking display by Maggie Sereika and Samantha Kaiser.

Sereika got the block party started with a huge stuff block on an Evanston overpass, which seemed to turned the momentum in favor of the Wildkits.

Evanston proceeded to block the Maine South attack two more times to pull within two, 13-11.

Evanston finally tied the game up at 19, after an ace forcing Maine South to call a timeout. However, Maine South responded right away, taking the lead right back at 21-19, which this time, made Evanston call timeout.

After the break, Evanston sided out straight away, and with a little bit of luck, rattled off four straight points to put them in a commanding position up 23-21. Evanston finished off the set with another Sereika block to take it, 25-22.

Much like set one, the final frame saw a close contest through the early portion as Maine South clung to a slim 13-12 lead.

That is when the wheels completely came off for Evanston. Thanks to the serving of Sophia Galassini and a variety of Evanston errors, Maine South finished off the match on a 12-2 scoring run, to win the final set 25-14.

Evanston will look to bounce back on Wednesday as they return home to face a Niles North team who game New Trier a run for their money on Monday. Maine South will face a stiff challenge from Niles West in their match on Wednesday.