Knights, Celtics move into regional final

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With just two seniors on the floor, Lincoln-Way Central would seem to be a team of the future when it comes to state success.

Knights coach Joann Holverson is more of a “now” person. “You never know what the future holds,” Holverson said. “All we’re thinking about this regional, this sectional, this state tournament.”

And they were thinking pretty big thoughts after beating Lincoln-Way North 25-10, 25-18 on Tuesday in a Marian Catholic Regional semifinal.

“Why not?” junior Kyle Overby said. “If our blocking and our serve-receive can stay strong like it was tonight, we definitely have a chance.”

Overby? He’ll take care of the hitting. The 6-foot-4 junior had 12 kills as the Knights (25-11) advanced to Wednesday night’s scheduled regional final against Providence. The Celtics (23-14) advanced via a 25-11, 18-25, 27-25 victory over Oak Forest.

Other heroes for Lincoln-Way Central included senior James Cummins (four kills, eight blocks), junior Connor Wexter (21 assists) and junior Adam Sieger (eight digs, three aces). Nick Wozniak had 19 digs, Zak Erdmann eight assists and Jon Hamm three kills for Lincoln-Way North (14-17).

Overby was key in sending the Knights on their way to a third consecutive victory over the Phoenix. Game 1 was close at 7-4 when he landed a rocket down the left side, went cross court for another kill, and finally tipped down an overpass on a serve-receive.

Sieger later scored three aces during a 7-0 serving run that put the game away.

The Knights led just 18-15 in Game 2 when Cummins had back-to-back blocks and Overby back-to-back kills during a decisive run.

“(Lincoln-Way North) is a great team,” Overby said. “I’ve got all the respect for them. But I got into a zone tonight, and we had some great blocking by James and Tony (Szajkovics). Connor is just an amazing setter.”

Lincoln-Way North’s first season as a varsity team saw major strides, including a win at home against Andrew and a three-game loss to powerhouse Lincoln-Way East.

“We had some highlights,” Phoenix coach Matt Lawrence said. “We competed well with some good teams. We just need to learn to play more consistently.”

Providence roared back from an 18-11 deficit in Game 3 to beat Oak Forest (20-10).

Junior middle hitter Jim Connolly was a key with some late heroics, including a jump serve for an ace for the final point with what the Celtics faithful called “The Laser.”

“They started calling it that this season,” Connolly said. “I don’t know why. I never used to serve like that until early this season.”

Connolly had a chance to put the match away at the net with Providence in front 25-24, but misfired on a kill attempt.

“My depth perception got a little off there,” Connolly said. “I think I was thinking too hard.”

Teammate Denny Falls gave him another chance to be a hero with kill off a quick set to make it 26-25. This time Connolly was not denied.

Falls finished with 10 kills, Connolly eight and Mike Sweeney seven. Mike Galgan (21 assists), Kevin Tucker (10 assists), Kyle Brietbarth (12 digs) and Brian Urchell (12 digs) also starred.

Oak Forest was led by T.J. Ryan (26 assists), Kevin Hullinger (nine digs), Cody Sprayberry (eight kills), Mike Funkhouser (six blocks), Scott England (eight kills), Cody Moss (nine kills, 10 digs) and Vince Luciano (eight blocks).