Griffins overcome tough Providence atmosphere

Updated: April 9, 2011 7:38PM

Providence can be a difficult place to play with its large, vociferous student section and a gymnasium that can amplify sound to near rock concert-like levels.

Tuesday, it was no exception.

But No. 3 Lincoln-Way East overcame the atmosphere and a 20-17 deficit in Game 2 to defeat the Celtics 25-13, 25-23.

"It's always tough against Providence," Lincoln-Way East's 6-foot-1 junior outside hitter Nathan Royer said. "You hear it from the fans. It's a tough place to play. But we picked it up toward the end. We wanted to put them away in two.

"(Down 20-17 in Game 2) We talked about not making a lot of errors, keeping the ball in play and keeping our serves in," Royer added. "After making a mistake, Sean (Piet) made a good kill to finish it."

Lincoln-Way East (11-2) used a 9-1 run in Game 1 to extend what had been a 14-11 lead. The run was fueled by two aces and two kills by Nathan Royer and a service error by the Celtics following their lone sideout.

But Providence (6-3) responded in Game 2, rallying from a 13-10 deficit to grab a 20-17 lead on Brendan Duffner's only two kills of the match.

However, two kills by John Kanapick got the Griffins even at 22-22, and a service error by Providence and a disputed "out" call on a Celtic dig volley set up Piet's heroics.

"We got a little lackadaisical in the second game and couldn't get in system," Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore said. "But the guys kept fighting. They have been down this road before. They are battle-tested."

Kanapick finished with four kills and a block, 6-5 junior Jason Garnett had three kills and a block and Ryan Dexter added 11 assists for Lincoln-Way East. Marty Ross led Providence with seven kills and two blocks and Casey Contorno had a kill and seven assists.

"We made way too many errors," Providence coach Brett Krapil said. "We did not come ready to play. They served aggressively and got us on our heels right away. We picked it up a little bit in the second game, but it was a little too late."

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.