Hickey, Joliet Catholic too much for Marist

Annemarie Hickey and Joliet Catholic were just too much to handle for visiting Marist Tuesday.

Hickey had 10 kills, Gina Vera added 18 assists and 12 digs and Alyssa Warren added five kills, two aces and 10 digs as No. 3 Joliet Catholic (25-2, 6-1 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference) handled Marist, 25-15, 25-21.

“We were Hickey-fied,” Marist coach Natalie Holder said. “Annemarie is probably the best athlete in the conference. Even when we were in perfect block position, we wound up being really pressed. Her power is so great that the force of her ball pushes your hips open.”

Joliet Catholic used a 7-2 run fueled by five Marist hitting errors to break a 5-5 tie in game one. In the second game, the RedHawks (18-9, 7-1) broke out to a 9-4 lead but wilted under the constant pressure of Hickey and 6-foot-2 sophomore Lainey Wyman (five kills).

“I don’t thing we were as intense as we’re used to playing,” Joliet Catholic setter Gina Vera said. “But I thought we played real solid defense. Overall, we played well. There was a lot of carryover from the weekend (winning the Mizuno Cup).”

Claire Randich and Katie Hickey each had three blocks for the Angels. Jacqueline Lang led Marist with six kills, sophomore Katie Krasowski added four kills and a blocks, Erin Kelly had 12 assists and sophomore Caroline Niedospial had nine digs.

“We didn’t control our side of the net like we needed to,” Holder said. “We gave up too many points. It’s always a dogfight in conference. Our girls didn’t give up. They focused out the crowd and focused on the match.”