Defense powers Hawks past Loyola

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With its back against the wall Maine South responded like a champion, winning its third sectional title in five years.

After dropping the first game of the Maine South Sectional to Loyola, the Hawks turned it on to pick up a 19-25, 25-21, 25-16 victory Tuesday.

Eric Butch paced Maine South (33-6) with 13 kills while Reis Foster led Loyola (33-6) with 17 kills.

“All we needed to do was pick up our defense,” Butch said. “Our defense was lacking and we weren’t touching a lot of balls on the block. We stepped that up and that definitely was the turning point.”

Foster was dominant in the first game as the junior had 10 kills to give Loyola a fairly easy win.

But Game 2 was back and forth until Maine South broke a 17-17 tie with three straight kills from Butch.

Game 3 was tight early on and was tied 8-8, but when Maine South turned it on, it was all over.

“The difference was defense,” said Hawks coach Gary Granell. “We match up really well offensively with a lot of teams but it’s the defense that turns the tables. If we can block well and get points on transition, that’s when we beat teams.”

Matt Schueller led the Maine South defense with 18 digs while Mike Hejza set up the offense with 32 assists.

The Hawks will play Marist 6 p.m. Friday in the state quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates.