With three starters out due to injuries, Highland Park High School volleyball players Stela Kukoc and Alison Perlman stepped up their pace and led reserve players to a victory over rival Deerfield.
Kukoc and Perlman led the Giants to a 25-15, 25-11 victory over the Warriors last week in Deerfield.
As the season progressed with Highland Park accumulating a 7-8 record, Grace Rhoades, Leah Weiss and Taylor Czerwinski all suffered injuries, including two concussions.
“We have had three or four injuries keeping starters out all season,” coach Beth Peterson said. “We’ve had eight or nine lineup changes. (Kukoc and Perlman) really helped hold it together. They helped the others step up.
“They stepped up to be leaders,” Peterson said of the two in their fourth year of varsity play. “It really matters to them.”
Perlman gives credit for the dominant win over Deerfield to the reserves gaining more experience.
“It’s been a learning experience,” Perlman said. “They’ve had an opportunity to play and take responsibility. They helped us win.”
Ahead 3-2 in the first set, Kukoc served the Giants into an 8-2 lead and the Warriors never got closer than five points in the opening salvo. Besides her serves, Kukoc put the ball on the floor three other times, some with the help of Perlman.
“Stela (Kukoc) will always find a way to be ready,” Perlman said. “I see where she is going, and she makes it easy to be able to set (her) up.”
Deerfield, which is 10-9 for the season after three wins in the Maine East Invitational after the Highland Park game, had an off day, according to coach Eugene Chung.
“We played very poorly,” Chung said. “It’s hard to win when you don’t put points together.”
The most consecutive scores the Warriors could muster were three points in the first set and three in the second.
After Kukoc dominated the first set, giving Highland Park an edge the Warriors could not get close to, Deerfield scored the first point of the second before the Giant ran off the next six tallies.
Deerfield cut the Giant lead to two, 6-4, before Highland Park outpaced the Warriors 10-2 in the next 12 points. Perlman and Kukoc, with some help from Mattie Giese, led the charge. Perlman set Kukoc for a kill on the final play to secure the victory.
“I like to be aware of where (the opponent) is setting up,” Kukoc said. “If I see something open up, I hit it there.”
Highland Park got additional help from Kathleen McKean and Carly Korman.
“They really stepped up today,” Peterson said. “We’ve had a rough stretch, and they stepped up.”
Bright spots for Deerfield included five kills from Molly Nakahara and nine assists from Dana Kaufman.
In the Maine East tourney, the Warriors finished seventh out of 16 teams with victories over Leyden, Niles West and Oak Forest, according to Chung.
“We bounced back from that flat match against Highland Park,” Chung said.
