Minooka survives Joliet Catholic scare

Updated: May 25, 2011 9:42PM

A little bit of March Madness in May, perhaps?

The feeling was certainly there Wednesday night as a young Joliet Catholic boys volleyball team took 2010 state semifinalist and top-seeded Minooka to the limit before falling 25-14, 22-25, 25-23 in the Joliet West Regional championship match.

It almost had a David vs. Goliath feel, certainly after Game 1, when the taller, deeper and stronger Indians finished off the set with a 10-3 run and pulled away from a 15-11 score midway through the game.

So dominant were the Indians (27-6-1), that most everyone in the sizable crowd was expecting a quick night. But the Hilltoppers (14-26) weren’t ready to concede anything.

“After the way that first game ended,” Joliet Catholic coach Rhyen Staley said, “the only people in the building that really thought we still had a chance were the kids on our team. I have to give credit to our senior captain Kyle Kirwan. He looked at me after the game and said, ‘Coach, I’ve got this,’ and then he personally took over the discussion. He went to each and every player on the team and rallied them. He was a real leader and great role model tonight, both on and off the court. I hope that our younger players learned a lot from him.”

It was Kirwan’s play on the court that not only got the Hilltoppers back into the match but nearly helped them score a major upset. He was literally all over the court, leading the team in just about every offensive and defensive statistical category.

“Kyle Kirwan was outstanding for them tonight,” Minooka coach Janel Grzetich said. “I told him after the match that he was not only a great hitter, but a very smart and intelligent hitter. He played awfully well and inspired his teammates to play hard and strong all night.”

Grzetich had a one word to describe the match’s turning points.

“Momentum,” she said. “They had it when they came back and won Game 2 and then when they went out to the big lead in Game 3. We finally got it back at the end of the match just in time to get the win.”

Joliet Catholic broke open a tight game two to take a 15-9 lead midway through Game 2. The Indians roared back to take a brief 21-20 lead but the Hilltoppers scored five of the final six points to win the set, 25-22, and set up the deciding third game.

The rubber game was tied at 6-6 before Joliet Catholic went on a 13-5 run to open up a 19-11 advantage and get within a half-dozen points of spoiling Minooka’s hopes for a second straight regional title win over the Hilltoppers and a chance to defend its sectional title next week.

With their backs to the wall, the Indians finally got back into the groove that they enjoyed in Game 1. Middle Rick Bishop keyed the comeback by scoring three of the next five points in a 7-0 run that pulled Minooka to within 19-18. A Kirwan kill momentarily slowed the Minooka rally but the Indians then scored four of the next five points to take a 22-21 lead.

The score was knotted at 22 when Minooka outside hitter Brandon Toth broke the deadlock with a kill and that was followed by a shared block from Justin Savickas and Kevin Hannon that set up match point.

It took two tries but Minooka got the deciding point to win 25-23 and claim its spot in the Belleville West Sectional. The contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Lockport will be a rematch of last year’s sectional semifinal where Minooka defeated Neuqua Valley by rallying to win the final two games after losing 25-13 in the opener. The Indians lost their only regular-season match to Neuqua earlier this spring.

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