Stay Connected with YourSeason
Marist stifles Lincoln-Way Central
Updated: May 25, 2011 10:03PM
If last season’s sectional semifinal against Lincoln-Way Central taught Marist’s Kevin Morrison anything, it was that a game and match never are out of reach.
In 2010, with Marist down a game and looking down and out in the second, the RedHawks regrouped and charged back into the match, winning it on the way to the state championship title.
So Wednesday night at the Marist Regional final in a similar situation against Central, Morrison wasn’t worried.
“You’ve got to play to 25 (points),” Morrison said with a smile. “It was pretty sloppy at times, but we cleaned it up, and played our best at the end.”
Sloppy? Sure, but the RedHawks certainly did save their best for last. Facing a game point in the second, Marist dug in its heels and fought back, closing the game and match on a 3-0 run to beat Lincoln-Way Central 25-21, 26-24.
Marist will play Lincoln-Way East in the Sandburg sectional semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
“The entire match we played well, but then we’d have these runs of unforced errors,” Central coach Joann Holverson said. “We competed well with Marist, and I’m really proud of how my guys played. We’d make a great play, then make a poor choice and make an error.”
Marist (32-5) was led by Morrison’s nine kills, while Sean Connelly had six kills and two blocks. Garrett Dempsey finished with 22 assists while Tony Natalino (6 kills) and Kevin Murphy (15 digs) also contributed.
After losing the first game in close fashion, Central charged out of the gates, taking a 14-8 lead, only to see the defending champs slowly chip away.
“We kept getting within two points, and Central would get it to three or four again,” Marist coach Bob St. Leger said. “They fought, and our guys were fighting back. That second game was great.”
A Dan Garvey ace for Marist tied the game at 23 in the second, but a service error into the net gave the ball back to the Knights. With a third game looming, Marist stepped up.
Two kill attempts were blocked out of bounds by Central, and looking to put the Knights away, Morrison stepped up, slamming his ninth kill of the match.
“We just had to push through it,” Morrison said. “We didn’t want to go three because they would have had the momentum. We pushed through and worked hard, but we’ve got a long way ahead of us.”
Central (22-15) was led by Sean Blackwood (10 kills, 8 digs), Austin Overby (6 kills) and received nine assists each from Connor Thorp and Matt Dugan.
© 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.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment