Mankus, Patzin power Benet

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Ariana Mankus had nine of her 20 kills in the third game, and No. 9 Benet (30-3, 7-1) fought off eight match points to defeat visiting Marist 25-27, 25-17, 34-32 to stay alive in the East Suburban Catholic title chase.

‘‘The good thing about tonight is we proved that in a tight situation we can continue to be aggressive and continue to hit hard,’’ said Mankus, an outside hitter.

Natalie Patzin added 15 kills for Benet, including one that gave the Redwings a 33-32 lead, their first advantage in the third game since 20-19. Beth Kinsella had 42 assists.

Natalie Pounovich led Marist (21-9, 7-2) with 13 kills, and Maggie Malone and Jacqueline Lang each had 11.

‘‘I don’t like to lose, but we had match point eight times against a team with six solid rotations,’’ RedHawks coach Natalie Holder said. ‘‘I think we’re peaking at the right time.’’