Larkin turns the tables on Elgin this time

Elgin was pretty confident going into Tuesday's match against Larkin.

Midway through Game 1, the Royals had all of the confidence.

Trailing 10-7, Larkin (4-17, 2-2) rattled off an 18-3 run to take Game 1 25-13 and followed it up with a 25-21 Game 2 victory to take the Upstate Eight Conference game at Chesbrough Field House and avenge a nonconference loss earlier this season.

Elgin (3-17, 0-4) built the momentum early in Game 1, starting off with a 10-7 lead when junior Lindsey Morrow nailed an ace into the back row of the Larkin defense.

Larkin senior Ashley Gazda recorded back-to-back blocks for kills after an Elgin illegal hit to tie things up at 10. Elgin would then spend a pair of timeouts as Larkin would score 14 of the next 16 points.

"Our defense was definitely working hard," said Gazda, who finished the match with 4 blocks and 3 kills. "Our blockers were swinging harder then we every had. Everyone came out fired up. It's Elgin, they're our rival."

A 25-21, 25-22 victory by the Maroons earlier in a nonconference match to open the season only added to the Roylas' fire.

Elgin, which had kept up the intensity in the days leading up to the showdown, had trouble sustaining it.

"We tried in practice, we had a lot of intensity, but in the game it didn't show," said Elgin freshman Kendall Martin, who finished with a match-high 7 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces. "Everything started going wrong."

Elgin battled back several times in Game 2, before Larkin would again pull away. Ellen Holton (5 blocks, 2 kills) nailed an ace to pull the Maroons within 1 point (20-19), but Elgin failed to capitalize, allowing Larkin to score the next 4 points.

Earlier a Holton kill had again brought Elgin to within 1 (18-17), but a hitting error did not allow the Maroons to tie the game.

"Today with our game we were putting our pieces together," Larkin coach Gail Johnson said. "Our team plays much better when we have intensity."

Tied at 12, Liza Smithberger (8 assists) recorded back-to-back kills allowing Larkin to pull away. Jessica Garrity (3 kills) and Clarie Sherman (8 digs) both contributed for Larkin, while Amanda Schwartz (12 assists) and Mary Taylor (4 kills) helped out for Elgin.

Elgin tied Game 2 at 8 after allowing larkin to get up 6-2.

"In the second game, we started to see flashes of the Elgin Maroons team that I know," Elgin coach Keith Foster said. "We came out intense."