The JV Team started the week hosting Cy Fair. The team looked to avenge its only loss in District play. It was also Teacher Appreciation Night, which offered the program a chance to celebrate the dedication of our teaching staff to improve the lives of our students and prepare them for the road ahead.

vs. Cy Fair

Stratford started out strong, opening a 6-1 lead with a pair of Lauren Dunwoody kills and points by Sydney Pera and Jenna Rae James. Brooke McAfee cranked up the defense with a number of diving digs. A Maddy Hoang ace made it 9-4, and an imposing Tess Stephenson block forced a timeout at 12-5. Consecutive kills by Jenna Rae James, Sydney Pera, and Lauren Dunwoody brought the score to 21-8, and a run of Tess Stephenson serves helped close things out at 25-12.

The second set saw the Bobcats gain an early lead until a pair of Caroline White laser serves fell for aces and tied things up at 5-5. An Elizabeth Swoboda kill then made it 8-8. The teams then traded punches, with the score being tied 7 more times in the match, with several defensive plays by libero Logan Sykes preventing any long runs by the Bobcats. Finally, the Spartans closed out a 25-23 set win and match victory on a Sydney Pera kill made possible by a Jenna Rae James diving save.

vs. Cy Creek

JV sprinted out to a 12-3 early lead against Cy Creek on the strength of strong defense by Brooke McAfee and Kristabella Van Gaston and multiple kills by Lauren Dunwoody, Sydney Pera, and Jenna Rae James. The Spartans maintained a comfortable lead for most of the set through 20-12, buoyed by stout defense by Jocelyn Pineda, quick net play by Elizabeth Swoboda, and kills from Jenna Rae James and Sydney Pera. From there, Cy Creek went on a furious 15-3 run to steal the set 23-25.

After a back-and-forth start, Stratford opened up a 17-10 lead on Creek in the second set on the strength of SIX Jenna Rae James kills, made possible by precision setting by Brooke McAfee. There were several saves by Brooke McAfee, and a slew of blocks by Milena Miladinovic during the stretch as well. Quick defense by Jocelyn Mucino and Maddy Hoang and kills by Lauren Dunwoody and Milena Miladinovic helped close out the set at 25-13.

The third set saw the Spartans trade leads with Creek until the score was tied at 10-10. Early-on highlights included an imposing head tap kill by Milena Miladinovic and a Jenna Rae James kill set up perfectly by a Caroline White assist. A pair of Jenna Rae James aces forced a timeout at 14-10, and the Spartans kept up the pressure after the break. A Lauren Dunwoody/Tess Stephenson combo block, made possible by yet another Brooke McAfee diving save earlier in the point, kept the pressure up. Caroline White then quarterbacked several well-placed assists leading to free swinging kills by Milena Miladinovic, Jenna Rae James, and Tess Stephenson to make the score 23-17. Stratford then closed out the victory at 25-19 on a Jenna Rae James ace.

JV (23-5, 8-1 in District) hosts Northbrook on Tuesday and travels to Spring Woods on Friday. Both games start at 4:30 pm.

Go Spartans!