Dundee-Crown’s Erin Bruce couldn’t participate in summer camp with due to a broken pinkie.
As a result, the sophomore outside hitter didn’t get the chance until tryouts to really work with new head coach Patty Langanis, who had all of her players experimenting with a jump serve.
Langanis, the longtime leader of Cary-Grove’s program, ended up picking Bruce — who had never done that before — as one of the Chargers’ players to use the jump serve all season long.
“It took a little while,” Bruce said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs with it.”
Those ups are becoming more frequent than the downs, with Bruce using that serve Thursday night to carry host Dundee-Crown to a 25-8, 25-18 Fox Valley Conference victory over Jacobs.
The Chargers (11-16, 6-10) held a 12-8 lead in the first game when Bruce went to the service line in Carpentersville. She never gave the ball back, notching four aces in the final 13 points.
Bruce finished with six aces to go with five kills and 15 digs for Dundee-Crown. Tori Brents, the team’s other jump server, tallied three aces and two blocks. Kate Graham added five kills.
Rachelle Zieba led Jacobs (15-18, 6-10) with six kills and two aces. Gracyn Sanders added three blocks, while Layla Merlin and Maddie Mitchell added three kills apiece.
With the future in mind, Langanis wanted to start to develop that skill of being able to jump serve, especially with Bruce and Brents being only sophomores.
“I told them, no matter how many you miss, you’re not quitting,” Langanis said. “They’re both sophomores, so we think by the time they’re seniors, they’re going to be ripping it.”
That wasn’t always the case this season for Bruce, though.
“It’s taken a while to get where I’m at,” she said. “There have been some games where it’s just frustrating. Getting through those moments has really helped me.”
Langanis has seen the struggles as well. A performance akin to Thursday’s match, however, shows how that plan is starting to come together.
“We’ve taken our bumps and bruises with our jumps this season,” Langanis said. “I’m sure parents have been in the stands wondering, ‘Why are they doing that? They’re missing so much.’
“You do it because, in the long term, you’re hoping you can find a lot of easy points. We found some (Thursday).”
The 6-foot Bruce has been waiting for this type of night.
“I’ve struggled a lot with consistency with my serve, so this was a really big step forward,” Bruce said. “I was just happy I could step up in that moment for my team, especially against our rivals.”
But Bruce’s newest skill doesn’t overshadow her main job for the Chargers. She’s approaching 200 kills while expanding her repertoire along the way.
“For her, it was power, power, power,” Langanis said of Burce. “She’s really expanded her game and added some shots and really identified when to swing hard and when not to.
“She’s getting a really high volleyball IQ. When we’re in system and it’s a fast set, there’s not much that’s going to stop her. I’m really proud of her.”
Bruce was excited about being coached by a new voice, particularly one with as much experience as Langanis. To see the fruits of those teachings, both hitting and serving, has been a revelation.
“I had to mix in some different shots to be able to put the ball down,” Bruce said. “I wanted to swing as hard as I could.
“Knowing I could score so many more points by doing that has been a game changer for me.”
Jacobs coach Michael Depa couldn’t help but take notice.
“We knew they were going to go to their outsides a bunch,” Depa said of Bruce. “We were trying to take that away. She has long arms. She’s going to be tough to play the next couple years.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.