Finally getting a chance to play varsity volleyball as a senior, Geneva middle hitter Kai Davenport realized something pretty quickly when the bright lights were turned on.
The energy of the crowd and her teammates help her thrive.
“I love it,” Davenport said. “I love playing in front of a crowd. It’s a lot easier to feed off energy when you have all the people in the stands, not just the bench.
“I think I have pretty good confidence when it comes to high-energy situations. Obviously, it’s a confidence boost getting a stuff block.”
Davenport came through when the Vikings needed it most Wednesday night.
Her kill with host Geneva trailing 24-21 in the third game sparked a stirring five-point rally that ended the match for a 20-25, 25-23, 26-24 nonconference victory over Waubonsie Valley.
Davenport had two kills and a block in that closing run and led Geneva (3-5) with a match-high 10 kills. Zori Malone followed with eight kills and Emma Peterson picked up seven.
Addilyn Candrian paced Waubonsie (3-5) with eight kills, while Chloe Gollaher came through with six kills and Annabelle Black and Zoe Kraslen each tallied five.
Despite having no varsity experience, Davenport committed in August to Rock Valley. Geneva coach Lauren Kosecki was hoping she could fill a spot for a team that graduated 12 players.
It’s a matter of making the jump up in competition that Kosecki needed to see.
“I knew Kai had the ability and skill to do it,” Kosecki said. “I just wasn’t sure how she would join varsity. You never know with all of the ups and downs. She’s done a really nice job stepping in.”
After dropping the first game, Geneva rallied to win the second, with Davenport’s kill sealing it. Then, the Vikings put together their stunning rally to win, which Davenport was happy to see.
“We know what we need to do to win games,” Davenport said. “It’s just a matter of putting it into practice. I think we do a lot better in high-energy situations. It pumps us up.
“I think that helps us focus in a little bit.”
The Warriors thought they had the match won when a block by Kathryn Travis built that 24-21 lead in the third game. They couldn’t finish off Geneva, however.
“We just want to compete and give ourselves a chance, and we did, and we had it,” Waubonsie coach Noel Soto said. “They’ll learn. We’ll grow.
“I thought we had some momentum in the first set. Second set, we didn’t execute, couple key players had off nights. We have to start stepping up as a team. We’ll get there. It’s a process.”
These are the kinds of wins Kosecki and the Vikings want to see with nearly an entirely new roster this season. Every match is a learning experience, and Wednesday’s lesson was resilience.
“I think it shows that you can make errors,” Kosecki said. “You can have bad games, but we can come back. Anything can happen in volleyball. That’s what I keep telling them. Don’t give up.
“Just because you were down five points, it doesn’t mean anything. It turns around so quick. You just have to rally together.”
There have been a lot of firsts for Davenport over the past couple of weeks. Wednesday’s was playing in front of the home crowd for the first time. As it turns out, that was right up her alley.
“Definitely a little bit of nerves, our first home game,” Davenport said. “It definitely came with some nerves. I know I had some nerves. It’s fun to have people in the stands, but we had to drown that out and focus on what’s happening in the game.
“Obviously, I loved it.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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