Eissens recognized for 1000 kills, Sauk Valley opens postseason with home sweep

DIXON — The Sauk Valley Community College volleyball team looked sharp but played loose to open the postseason at home on Wednesday night.

The Skyhawks, the No. 1 seed in the NJCAA Division II Region 4 bracket, swept 16th-seeded South Suburban 25-8, 25-7, 25-16 to advance to the semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Madison College.

SVCC (30-7) will face eighth-seeded Kankakee, a 27-25, 25-19, 25-22 winner over Morton College on Wednesday.

The Skyhawks’ hitters were especially locked in during the first two sets as Lacey Eissens had 16 kills and Jess Johns had 13.

Eissens, a sophomore and West Carroll graduate, was also recognized for eclipsing 1,000 kills earlier this season.

She said having one last home match provided a good opportunity to refocus and reenergize as the postseason ramps up. Having a No. 1 seed has provided some pressure.

“It’s a little pressure to perform well, but I think we need the pressure to hold us to that kind of standard,” Eissens said. “We’re all very athletic, and I think every single person on this team can play to a high level of volleyball.

“We’re excited. Everyone’s excited.”

Eissens rattled off a string of kills for which the Bulldogs (13-20) had little answer. Johns then did the same.

“It’s a very offensive team and we kind of feed off of each other,” Eissens said. “It’s friendly competition, because everyone wants to hit.”

Johns, a freshman and Newman grad, said it was great to get some momentum to open the postseason in front of the home crowd.

The goal is getting back to nationals this year, but the team is expecting everyone’s best shot as the No. 1 seed.

“That’s the upset that they want,” Johns said. “But I think also having the No. 1 [seed] and having that mentality that you have to have that chip on your shoulder and play like you are No. 1 also helps the type of team dynamic that we have.

“I think that everyone is confident and they play their best when they’re confident in their game.”

Tori Balma led the team with 23 assists and Rock Falls grad Denali Stonitsch added 21.

Ava Wight, an Oregon grad, led the team with 18 digs.

The Skyhawks, ranked eighth to end the regular season, got a look at some of the top teams at the Parkland Invite two weekends ago. They fell to three teams now ranked in the top 14 in No. 2 Parkland, No. 4 Heartland and No. 14 Illinois Central College, which it beat earlier in the season.

“I don’t think we performed how we necessarily wanted to,” Wight said. “But I think we’re ready for revenge in the national tournament if we make it that far.”

She said the losses helped provide an awakening to finish the regular season.

“It was a good thing,” she said. “We see the things that we needed to work on to get us ready for the postseason.”

Wight said the team worked on its connections between setters and hitters.

‘We’ve just been working on getting our setters and hitters to connect, so that way we can hit the open zones and see the seams around the block,” she said. “We really performed well with what we did in practice.”

The Arrowhead Conference champions went 21-0 in their region to earn the No. 1 seed. Eissens, an All-American last year, is third in kills in the region with 492 (4.03 per set). She and Wight were both named to the all-region team.

SVCC coach Jay Howell said this year’s team finds a way to win close matches and hates to lose.

“Every five-set match we’ve been in, we’ve won,” he said. “They have a way of hanging with teams and then finishing them off at the end. As a team, they just gel together.”

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Sauk Valley player Kenna Wubbena sets the ball up. Sauk Valley College beat South Suburban College in three sets Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at Sauk Valley Community College. SVCC entered postseason as top seed in Region 4. (Brian Hurley)