Kankakee Valley High School

The rain had shortened practice the previous day for The Valley (although, some used the opportunity to get in some extra conditioning). This made today’s warm up before the match extra important. The sun was on and off blinding and a breeze sometimes affected hitting and serving. The temperature, however, was pleasant, especially opposed to the scorching weather during the very beginning of the season. The seniors watched their player signs get hung up outside of the entrance to the courts with smiles. Knox arrived shortly after with 10 competitors, and plans were quickly made for inter-team matches and playbacks for the rest of the Kougars. The stands were filled with families and friends - a huge turnout! JV matches were set to play one set to 6. Once matches began, they moved at a quick pace. After the first few ceased, the wind began to have a chill to it as the sun was covered by more clouds. Varsity matches were full of long rallies and tough placement shots. #1 singles Luke Schepel’s focus on precise and structured form (even after hours of gameplay) made for really great rallies that often ended in his favor. #1 doubles duo Hunter Munoz and Mason Carter Capps finished their match first out of all the varsity players with a firm winning score of 6-1, 6-2. #2 singles Jeremy Vanblaircom had to make very quick, strategic moves at every single play. His opponent would often approach the net, meaning Vanblaircom had to carefully lob the ball out of his reach or hit with a great intensity around him. #2 doubles duo Caleb Lindberg and Caleb Sebella (nicknamed Caleb²) have grown into a very effective team, with their final score of 6-4, 6-1 reflecting this. #3 singles Nathan Hanson, once having a match lasting well over 3 hours, ended up not being the last varsity player remaining, with Schepel going into a third set. Even though this match didn’t end in the favor of the Kougars, it was well played and a tremendous battle for everyone in the audience to watch. Afterwards, the team pooled up on court #7 for a post-match meeting. They let out a powerful battle cry that quickly turned into laughter on the way out to the parking lot. - JV Coach Lauren Anderson