Hinsdale Central senior setter Emily Knutson hurt her finger on Friday, Sept. 2, during the third match of the LT Quad against host Lyons. As a result, Emily’s sister, sophomore Lindsay Knutson, also a setter, came off the bench to run the team’s 5-1 offense.
The Red Devils lost that match, but Lindsay Knutson played so well that it gave coach Mike Konrad an idea: Why not run a 6-2 offense, where a Knutson sister would be on the floor at all times, in the back row, giving the team three front-row attackers? Konrad deployed the new offense in the Wheaton Classic Invite at Wheaton Warrenville South.
Making a tactical change in the middle of the season was risky, but Emily Knutson saw promise despite that it would mean less playing time for her.
“It worked so great,” she said. “Everyone was clicking together, everyone was hitting well, passes were great, setting was much easier, in my opinion, and I said, ‘I think we should play this rotation because it works.'”
The transition has paid dividends, as the Red Devils had won four of their last five matches before falling to Lyons 26-24, 25-11 on Tuesday, Sept. 27. In that match, Emily Knutson had eight assists, four digs and one kill, while Lindsay Knutson had three assists.
Through that match, Emily Knutson led Hinsdale Central with 201 assists, while her sister was second with 79. Lindsay Knutson was also second on the team with 17 aces, one behind junior Molly Schwarz.
“They are both good setters, and having three hitters at all times helps us balance our offense,” said Konrad, whose team was 8-11 overall and 2-2 in the West Suburban Silver after the Lyons match. “Lindsay has improved a lot over the last couple of weeks, so it’s hard to keep her off the floor.”
This is the second year in which the Knutson sisters have played together on varsity. They also play for 1st Alliance Volleyball Club in Western Springs.
The talk around their Clarendon Hills home lately has been how well the 6-2 offensive shift has gone, especially considering how taxing the setting position can be.
“I like it a lot,” Lindsay Knutson said. “I think with setting there is so much action going on, so when you are doing a 5-1, you can get really tired. But during the 6-2, we each get a break for a couple of points and we’re fresh and ready to go back in.”
Emily Knutson added: “It’s like you can’t see when you’re on the court playing. (In a 6-2) it’s almost like you get a chance to step back and look at the court and see what the other team is doing and what you can do to counter it.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @GreggVossPreps
