Kankakee Valley High School

Today was a warm, windy day. Warmer than the girls have grown accustomed to, so there was a lot of worry about sunburns and sweating. Hanover arrived to the courts and arrangements were made to have the JV games played as 8 game pro sets, and hopefully have playbacks that could range in length depending on how long the varsity played for. The clouds eventually started to cover the sky, and the heat subsided to a very pleasant temperature. The only issue was that the wind increased in intensity, and really impacted game play. One side of the court felt nearly unplayable at times, with the opponent’s ball rushing at such high speeds. #2 JV duo Dakota Mulyk and Brynn VanNieulande were thrilled when they were able to play together and play in this spot on the line up. They left the court full of smiles and laughs in excitement at how well they performed. It was a great feeling, especially considering that they are freshmen members of the team! By the time the lights kicked on, the wind was much more mild. However, the competition only intensified. Varsity #3 singles and #1 doubles became locked into third sets. This being a conference match also brought more pressure and this was felt in the air. Coaches were attached to the fences, pacing back and forth and muttering out loud to themselves. Good, well fought points were praised loudly. After Maggie Norwine’s match ended, Emmie Pryzybylski and Rheyna Smith’s match continued on and on. Even though the third set was not won by the Kougars in the end, there was a lot to be proud of. The team met as they always did on court #7 to go over the day, talk about the varsity meet in Plymouth on Saturday, and talk about the upcoming week. After giving a powerful yell to close out, the girls rushed to say goodbye to Hanover and wish them a safe ride home. By this point, it was almost 8PM! - JV Coach Anderson