Naperville North badminton faces off against Metea Valley in the afternoon where Huskies edge out the Mustangs. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Metea Valley girls badminton hosting Naperville North in the final week of the regular season.
Three Doubles
We begin at three doubles with Claire Chen and Maya Kang-Chou from Naperville North against Nandini Mandava and Sri Buttula from the host Mustangs.
Buttula serving in the first set, Mandava then comes over with a strong return and an even stronger smash for the point.
The Huskies serving in the second set. Kang-Chou reaches for the return. Then Chen steps in and drops a point over the net out of Metea’s reach. North wins three doubles in two sets 24-22, 21-12, while also winning four and five doubles.
Two Doubles
Now to number two doubles with Vivian Kok and Ananya Saraswati competing for Metea Valley against Huskie players Bibiane Kan and Jennifer Xia.
Kok and Saraswati are paired together since both of their usual partners are injured, but the duo has quickly formed a bond. Kok with a well-placed backhand that stays inbounds for the point and a first set win.
A nice rally here later in the set, Kan and Xia are ready for each return. The Huskies end up earning the point as Kan’s shot falls just over the net. Feeling good about that one.
But Kok and Saraswati pull away in the second set and pick up the team’s first doubles win of the day.
One Doubles
Mustangs looking to keep the good times rolling in one doubles with Rosana Liang and Connie Lu facing Anhana Vishwanathan and Riya Alwala for the black and gold.
Really great matchup here between four great players. A nice rally goes back and forth. Vishwanathan puts an end to that with a smash. Mustangs win the first set 21-16.
In the second set, Lu and Alwala go back and forth on some short drop shots. Then Lu goes with a lob and a smash that gets returned, until Liang steps in for a strong smash to the floor. Huskies win the second set 21-17 to force a set three.
Another highly contested third set. However, Vishwanathan stays with it the entire point and ends things with the overhand smash. 21-18 MV in set three for a one doubles win.
Two Singles
Two of the same competitors then matching up in two singles. Vishwanathan serving to Rosana Liang in the near court. After a few lobs back and forth, the Huskie senior sends home a smash.
But just like in doubles, Vishwanathan is able to win in a very tight matchup, 21-16, 21-19 in two sets. At this point, the teams are all tied at 7-7 with just one singles remaining.
One Singles
Another fun matchup at one singles. Shannon Xu for Naperville North in the far court against Vivian Kok. A great job by the Mustang to make her returns as quick as possible to keep Xu off balance enough for the point.
Xu serving now later in the set and she forces Kok into a backhanded lob that the North junior smashes hard enough that it hits the net and topples over for the point.
It feels like you are always going to see something special when Shannon Xu is on the court. Kok doing her best to make her work all sides of the court but look at some of these quick reactions! Finally Xu with an incredible reach to dig out this shot and somehow flip it over the net. The types of plays you do not see every day. A two set win helps Naperville North edge out Metea Valley badminton 8-7 after a great afternoon of competition.
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