FS_091318

frankfortstation.com sports
the frankfort station | September 13, 2018 | 45
Girls volleyball
LW East holds home court against LW Central
Sean Hastings
Freelance Reporter
In a season where Lincoln-Way
East is still getting
used to its new and younger
team, the Griffins started the
season at 2-5, something it is
not used to doing.
But the Griffins rallied
around senior outside hitters
Molly Skoda and Nicki
Bechtold on its home court
to beat District 210 rival
Lincoln-Way Central 2-0
(25-16, 25-12) on Thursday,
Sept. 6.
The duo combined for 15
kills and led a forceful Griffin
attack, hardly skipping a
beat. Even with a few key
diving digs to keep intense
rallies alive, East was still
able to regain composure
and get into position for a
kill.
“I thought the biggest
part of our game is that we
passed the ball really well,”
East head coach Kris Fiore
said. “When you pass the
ball on the net, it opens up
a lot of lanes for your hitters
and it’s difficult to block on
the other side. That allowed
Molly [Skoda] and Nicki
[Bechtold] to get going. All
of our hitters were very successful.”
Senior setter Hannah
Kowalczyk dished out 17
assists, and sophomore setter
Ava Porada accompanied
Kowalczyk’s mark with 10
of her own.
The two setters did a
good job spreading the ball
around, Fiore said.
And when it came time to
try and stop East’s hitters,
Central was not able to do it.
“I thought that maybe
our serve-receive would
struggle, because they have
some good servers, but we
couldn’t control their hitters,”
Central coach Mary
Brown said. “Our block was
Lincoln-Way East's Nicki Bechtold (left) and Kaleigh Ritter participate in a game against
Sandburg on Aug. 30. The Griffins went on to defeat Lincoln-Way Central on Sept. 6.
22nd Century Media File Photo
off timing and our defense
wasn’t where it belongs.”
It was the tale of two stories
between the two Lincoln-Way
rivals. What East
found success doing, Central
did not.
As strong as the Griffin
servers seemed, the passing
was not the biggest issue for
the Knights, Brown said.
The Knights passed a 2.2
out of 3, but the East defense
made that all for not.
“[East] had a solid block
on us and our hitters just
couldn’t hit around them,”
Brown said. “We just really
had an off night. We’re definitely
a better team that we
showed [Sept. 6].”
The Griffins racked up
three blocks as a team with
sophomore middle hitter
Ali Sorenson, setter Jordan
Lindsey and opposite position
Lexi Hanley each contributing
one.
The Knights accumulated
14 kills as a team to the Griffins’
28. Senior Dani Lauer
led the Knights with 4 kills.
The Knights were unable
to hit around the outstretched
Griffin arms, and
when they did, it was dug by
the Griffin defense. East had
28 digs in the match with
junior libero Olivia Molnar
leading the way with 6.
“Defensively, we served
the ball aggressively and
they struggled with their
serve-receive,” Fiore said
about the team’s aggressive
play. “It helped out our defense
and I think that was [a
key to the game].”
The two teams came into
the match with two completely
different starts. The
Knights came in at 7-3 and
the Griffins were 2-5. And
now they leave with different
plans of action moving
forward.
The Knights will be looking
back on this game to see
what can be better, and the
Griffins hope this is a stepping-stone
to getting back to
being the team they should
be.
“I think our girls have a
good mindset,” Fiore said.
“We know that we’re introducing
a lot of these girls [to
varsity]. A lot of them didn’t
play varsity last year. We’re
playing in the regular rotation
three sophomores. Two
of them were on freshman
last year so they made the
jump from freshman to varsity.”
Fiore said there has to be
a period of adjustment being
dealt that situation.
After having two weeks
off to work on their game
leading up to the match with
Central, the Griffins are set
to play four days the week of
Sept. 9.
And for Central, Brown
said the team would especially
focus on blocking and
hitting in the coming practices
and matches.
“We have a small team
and there’s not that many
people I can replace people
not doing their jobs,” Brown
said. “We’re going to have
to work the kids we have
in there and work on their
blocking and hitting.”
This Week In
Griffins varsity
athletics
Football
■Sept. ■ 14 - at Sandburg,
7:30 p.m.
Boys golf
■Sept. ■ 14 - host Plainfield
North, 4:15 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Green Wedge
Classic, 7 a.m.
■Spet. ■ 20 - host TF South,
4:30 p.m.
Girls golf
■Sept. ■ 15 - at 30th PCHS
Celtic Swing, 11 a.m.
■Sept. ■ 17 - at Lockport,
4:30 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 20 - at Oak Forest,
4 p.m.
Girls volleyball
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Wheaton
Classic, 8 a.m.
■Sept. ■ 17 - host Joliet
Catholic, 5:30 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 18 - host Thornwood,
5:30 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 20 - at Thornridge,
6 p.m.
Boys soccer
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Bloom Pepsi
Showdown, TBA
■Sept. ■ 18 - host Lincoln-Way
Central, 6:15 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 20 - host Lincoln-Way
West, 6:15 p.m.
Boys cross country
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Dave Brady
Invite, 8 a.m.
Girls cross country
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Peoria Notre
Dame Richard Spring Invite,
TBA
Girls tennis
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Sandburg
Invite, 9 a.m.
■Sept. ■ 18 - at Lockport,
4:30 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 19 - at Neuqua Valley,
4:30 p.m.
■Sept. ■ 20 - at Homewood-
Flossmoor, 4:30 p.m.
Girls swimming and diving
■Sept. ■ 15 - at Normal Community
Invite, 8:30 a.m.
■Sept. ■ 20 - host Sandburg,
5 p.m.
AREA FOOTBALL STANDINGS
SouthWest Suburban
Team, Conf. Record, Overall
LW Central 2-0, 2-1
LW East 1-0, 3-0
H-F 1-0, 3-0
Bolingbrook 1-0, 3-0
Andrew 1-1, 2-1
LW West 1-1, 2-1
Thornton 1-1, 2-1
Thornridge 0-0, 1-2
Sandburg 0-1, 2-1
Brad-Bourb. 0-1, 2-1
Thornwood 0-1, 1-2
Lockport 0-1, 0-3
Stagg 0-1, 0-3
South Suburban Red
Team, Conf. Record, Overall
TF South 1-0, 3-0
Bremen 1-0, 2-1
Lemont 1-0, 1-2
Hillcrest 0-0, 3-0
Tinley Park 0-1, 2-1
TF North 0-1, 1-2
Oak Forest 0-1, 0-3
Chicago Catholic League Blue
Team, Conf. Record, Overall
Providence 0-0, 3-0
Brother Rice 0-0, 3-0
Montini 0-0 3-0
Loyola 0-0, 2-1
St. Rita 0-0, 1-2
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