The
NOTEWORTHY
A closer look at prep girls volleyball
IN THE GROOVE BATAVIA’S SERVING What the Bulldogs did: A pair of Batavia players – Sam Bradle and Marielle Eustace – reeled off 12 straight service points each Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ Upstate Eight Conference River win against Streamwood. Bradle’s 12 points came at the start of the match as Batavia rolled to a 2511, 25-6 road victory.
Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com
Veteran Batavia girls volleyball coach Lori Trippi-Payne won her 500th career match Saturday during a tournament at Plainfield North. This marks Trippi-Payne’s 28th season with the Bulldogs.
makes you feel good about the fact that I could be nowhere near [500] at this point if my kids didn’t have so much heart,” Trippi-Payne said. “The match I won 500 on, we were losing, 21-12, and we came back to win 25-23, and that just kind of shows you the kind of kids we have here. I’ve been very fortunate that way.” Trippi-Payne’s continued zeal for the sport is evident to all who watch her on the bench on match days. She said she’s open to coaching for several more seasons. “That would be neat, to keep pushing onward to the next milestone, but when all is said and done, hopefully we just go out there and play well,” Trippi-Payne said.
North’s Anderson digs Demons St. Charles North’s front line boasts yet another Division I
recruit. After North teammates Daley Krage (Northwestern) and Emily Carroll (Stetson for sand volleyball) made earlier college choices, outside hitter Claire Anderson on Tuesday offered her verbal commitment to DePaul. Anderson attended a DePaul camp in July and visited campus on Thursday, when the 6-foot junior outside hitter received a scholarship offer. “I visited a few schools but I was really focused on finding the right academic fit, so that made my pool of schools a little more narrow,” said Anderson, who intends to study clinical science. “DePaul was definitely at the top of my list.” Anderson, who has been on the varsity since her freshman year, said she’s excited to know she’ll play college volleyball within a half-hour
of Krage. “It’s actually really cool because we’ve been best friends since we’ve been 12 years old, so it’s going to be cool,” Anderson said. “Maybe we’re not playing at the same school but we’re going to be playing nearby.”
For a good cause St. Charles North takes on visiting Naperville Central tonight, and North will recognize the month of September as Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, according to North coach Lindsey Hawkins. North will “join forces with Cal’s Angels to raise awareness and collect funds to donate to this awesome organization,” Hawkins wrote in an email.
– Jay Schwab, jschwab@shawmedia.com
ST. CHARLES EAST’S DEPTH ON THE ATTACK What the Saints did: East coach Jennie Kull had the luxury of shuttling players in and out in Tuesday’s home win against West Chicago, and that balance was especially apparent from a kills standpoint. Meagan Smith (seven kills) and Mikaela Mosquera, Megan Schildmeyer and Riley Schumacher (five apiece) all were major contributors for the Saints.
HITTING REWIND St. Charles North junior outside hitter Daley Krage got a head start on showing her skills in the north suburbs. The Northwestern recruit gave a strong performance last week at Stevenson, notching nine kills in an impressive 25-20, 25-20 road win for the North Stars.
COMING ATTRACTION Geneva will play host Saturday to the Geneva Invitational, which also will include local foe Burlington Central. Perennial power Joliet Catholic is a traditional stumbling block for the host Vikings in the tournament field, but this year’s Geneva team might have the firepower to match up.
• Thursday, September 4, 2014
Lori Trippi-Payne’s 500th career coaching win Saturday prompted plenty of reflection from the longtime Batavia coach, and not just about her lengthy tenure with the Bulldogs. Trippi-Payne’s mother, the late JoAnn Trippi, was around to celebrate almost all of those wins, and those memories came flooding back in the aftermath of win No. 500, which came during the Plainfield North Invitational. “I learned a lot about loyalty and a lot about sticking things out and staying loyal to my program, I learned a lot of that from my mom,” said Trippi-Payne, who is in her 28th season coaching Batavia. “She worked at the same place for 33 years and for most of those 33 years as a legal secretary. She just passed away in June, and I wish she could have seen 500, but I’m sure she’s up there. “She had an accident in June, it was a sudden thing. She had just retired, so [reaching the milestone] is a little bittersweet, but it also makes me realize I learned a lot from her about doing my best and sticking with a program and being loyal.” Trippi-Payne said her mother loved to give her teams “a pep talk, win or lose,” and also attended numerous other volleyball matches in support of her grandchildren. Trippi-Payne thought win No. 500 was fitting in that the Bulldogs had to scramble back in one of the games against Libertyville’s JV team in a match won by Batavia, 25-19, 25-23. “There are quite a few of those matches in those 500 that we were the underdog that we won so it kind of
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Trippi-Payne’s milestone ‘a little bittersweet’
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