By James Howey
Sports editor
The Cavaliers volleyball squad kept up the domination at the Parkland tournament, rolling over more highly ranked teams. The Cavs went 4-0 on the weekend, beating three ranked opponents. The Cavs swept fourth-ranked Lincoln Land for the second time this season. The Cavs also beat Owens and Illinois Central, two top-15 teams, 3-1. Even with all the success, finding ways to improve is important for the squad and for head coach Jennifer Ei. These tough tournaments are perfect for that.
“Collectively as a group, I thought we played pretty well. It also helped us expose some things that we need to get better at,” Ei said. “I think they are progressing because it exposes different things from teams, so when we get back to practice and we are a little bit more focused on things we have to get better at.”
Following the great weekend for the Cavs, Bizzy Chilcoat, one of their sophomore leaders, was awarded KJCCC player of the week. Ei says Chilcoat has been an important leader for the Cavs this season.
“Bizzy brings a lot of leadership this year, things that I think she wanted to bring last year, but as a freshman she didn’t really know where she stood with it,” Ei said. “This year she’s being her natural self and you can see it on the court.”
Chilcoat had a huge weekend, including a season-high 15 kills against Owens and her highest hitting percentage at .692 against Vincennes.
“Attacking-wise she was our go-to a lot of times this weekend. Teams couldn’t figure it out,” Ei said. “She’s just an all-around player and she’s just enjoying it this year more and you can see it.”
The Cavs face a big week coming up with rival Kansas City Kansas coming to town on Wednesday and the stacked JCCC tournament, where the Cavs will face the only team to beat them this season, the number-one Parkland Cobras.