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frankfortstation.com sports
the frankfort station | September 6, 2018 | 35
Girls volleyball
Sandburg takes conference opener from Griffins
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
Lincoln-Way East’s Hannah Kowalczyk tries to nudge the
ball between Sandburg’s Keegan Carey and Ellie Watson.
The Griffins fell to the Eagles 25-19, 25-21 in the SouthWest
Suburban Conference opener Thursday, Aug. 30.
Photos by Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
The Griffins’ Ali Sorenson goes for the block on the
Eagles’ Evy Markis. Sorenson finished with four blocks in
the match.
Coming off winning its
first conference championship
in 11 years, the Lincoln-
Way East girls volleyball
team knew a repeat was going
to be tough this season.
After all, the Griffins
graduated three current Division
I players — Molly
Hackett, Haley Hart and
Hanna Lesiak — from last
season’s SouthWest Suburban
Conference Blue Division
title team.
While there is plenty
of season left to play, last
weeks SWSC Blue battle
with Sandburg probably
went a long way toward determining
what team was going
to emerge as conference
champion.
Unfortunately for East,
that was the Eagles. Playing
with a veteran roster, Sandburg
strode into Frankfort
and emerged with a 25-19,
25-21 victory in the SWSC
Blue opener on Thursday,
Aug. 30.
Erica Staunton (10 kills)
led four hitters who had at
least five kills for Sandburg
(7-1, 1-0), which played all
eight of its matches in the
past week. Molly Skoda (9
kills, 5 digs) paced the Griffins
(2-5, 0-1), who are off
to their worst start in years.
They haven’t had a losing
season since going 11-24 in
2009 and have won at least
22 matches every season
since then.
“Most of their kids have
been there, and most everyone
on our team has not”
East coach Kris Fiore said
of the experience difference
between the two teams. “We
know it’s a learning process
for us. We’re not going to hit
the panic button. Conference
championships aren’t won in
August or September.”
Both coaches wished the
matchup was later in the season.
But the schedule, which
was once again necessitated
because of parent/teacher
conferences scheduled on the
original date in October, said
otherwise. Despite Fiore’s assessment
that the conference
title isn’t won this early, history
says it could be.
Neither team plays another
SWSC Blue opponent until
the end of September. The
league usually schedules all
its inter-division matches in
the final weeks of the regular
season.
East’s loss wasn’t for a
lack of energy. The Griffins
opened the first set by
jumping out to leads of 5-1,
6-2, and 7-3. But Sandburg
struck back with an 8-1 run.
Now trailing 11-8, the
Griffins fought back to grab
a 15-14 lead. Skoda, a senior
outside hitter, smashed three
kills in the burst. But behind
16-15, Sandburg scored four
straight points and ended the
set on a 10-3 blitz. Junior libero
Rachel Krasowski (15
digs) had an ace and senior
defensive specialist Grace
Stepanek ended the opener
with another ace.
The second set was a similar
story. East had an early
3-1 lead, but a trio of ties
followed through 5-5. Then
a 9-3 burst put the Eagles
ahead 14-8. Trailing 15-9,
the Griffins answered with a
9-3 spurt of their own to tie
it at 18-18.
Sophomore middle hitter
Ellie Watson walloped
a block, East made two
straight hitting errors and
sophomore right side hitter
Keegan Carey (7 kills)
creamed a kill to make it
22-18. The teams traded
points the rest of the way. A
Staunton kill ended it.
Junior outside hitter Shelby
Stefanon (5 kills, 6 digs),
freshman setter Bianca May
(11 assists), junior defensive
specialist Jaclyn Oblena (6
digs) and DeFries (11 assists,
5 digs, ace) also contributed
for the Eagles.
Senior Hannah Kowalczyk
and sophomore Ava Porada
split the setting duties
for East, and each of them
had 14 assists. Libero Kaleigh
Ritter had 17 digs, and
fellow sophomore Ali Sorenson
smacked four blocks
from her middle hitter position.
Still, it’s an unfamiliar
feeling for Fiore, who guided
the Griffin boys team to
the state title in the spring
and was 55-20 with a pair of
regional championships in
his first two seasons as the
girls coach at the school.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever
opened a season 2-5,” Fiore
admitted.
But, he added that the season
is far from over.
“The kids played hard,”
Fiore said. “We’re right
there. We’ve lost a lot of
close matches. We just have
to execute down the stretch.
We have to get a set lineup.
We still have to get there, but
we’ll figure it out.”
East hopes to do that by
this Thursday, Sept. 6, because
local rival Lincoln-
Way Central comes to town
for a 5:30 p.m. SWSC crossover
matchup between the
District 210 rivals.
high school highlights
The rest of the week in high school sports
Boys soccer
LWE 2, LW West 1
Ryan Corydon and Bill
Hajjar each scored one goal
at the Aug. 25 game.
LWE 1, Thornton 0
Jackson Seida scored a
goal and Victor Parada had a
shutout on Aug. 25.
LWE 3, Joliet West 1
Jackson Seida, Ethan Barranca
and Ryan Corydon
each scored one goal on
Aug. 30.
Girls volleyball
LWE finished 14th at the
Plainfield North Tournament
Kaleigh Ritter had 38
digs, Hannah Kowalczyk
had 39 assists and Ali Sorenson
had 9 blocks at the Aug.
25 tournament.
LWE 19, 21; Sandburg
25, 25
Molly Skoda had nine
kills, Hannah Kowalczyk
had 14 assists and Kaleigh
Ritter had 17 digs at the Aug.
30 event.
Girls golf
LWE 177, LW West: 191
Sam Bollman was the
medalist for the Aug. 30
match with a 43. Other scorers
for the Griffins were
Kailey White (44), Jessica
Loera (45) and Emily Mc-
Glone (45).
Boys golf
LWE finished fifth at the
Southwest Team Classic
Nick Meiners and TJ
DeVries led the Griffins with
a 77 on Aug. 25.
LWE 164, Oak Forest 176
Matt Kelley led the Griffins
with a 39 at Green Garden
on Aug. 27.
LWE 169, Bradley 184
Matt Kelley was the
medalist, shooting a 38 at
the Elkes in Kankakee, on
Aug. 30.
High School Highlights
is compiled by Editor
Nuria Mathog, nuria@
frankfortstation.com