Warriors escape Joliet West

Updated: April 25, 2011 6:22AM

After a 25-17 victory in the first game of the match, Rory Harrison thought her Lincoln-Way West volleyball team took its foot off the gas against host Joliet West.

"I think after game one the boys got a little comfortable,'' Harrison said. "I think they thought they had it figured out. Joliet West is a good team. They had momentum, this great team bonding that's intimidating.''

Those intangibles helped carry Joliet West to a 25-21 victory in the second game, but Lincoln-Way West regained control in the finale and won the Southwest Suburban crossover match Monday with another 25-17 decision.

"I thought in the third game they made the adjustments that we asked them to sooner,'' Harrison said of her team. "When I told them to adjust the defense, they did it right away instead of three points later.''

Lincoln-Way West didn't reliquish the lead after the Warriors went ahead 6-5 in the final game. Joliet West closed the gap to 16-13 before Lincoln-Way responded with four straight points for a 20-13 advantage.

Lincoln-Way West (11-3) was led by Alex Root (eight kills, six blocks), Danny Murphy (eight kills), Joel McGuire (seven kills), Dave O'Brien (five kills), Ryan Walleck (seven digs) and Dominic Prospero (21 assists).

"We struggled in the second game,'' McGuire said. "The first game we had control of it. The third game we got some kills when we needed them.''

Making it a competitive match for Joliet West (5-9) were Brian Edwards (eight kills), Marlon Johnson (six kills), Brian Lyman (six kills), Nate Rees (27 assists) and Alex Bayner (17 digs).

"We've been in every match,'' Joliet West coach Jason Herrmann said. "I thought we've played pretty well. We've taken some tough teams to three games.''

Next for Lincoln-Way West are matches against Homewood-Flossmoor, Lockport and Sandburg.

"I feel like we're finally starting to come together,'' Prospero said. "A lot of our players are starting to play club now. Those extra reps helps us out.''

Lincoln-Way West was 4-20 last year in its first varsity season and this is the Warriors first year with seniors.

"To already be 11-3, it speaks volumes about their effort and how they work in practice,'' Harrison said. "The things we work on in practice, it's nice to see them in the game.''

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