Sports
Lincoln-Way East Volleyball Surges Ahead
Griffins take third at Marist Invite, start strong at Wheaton Warrenville South.
The Lincoln-Way East boys volleyball team was soaring as it headed to the Wheaton Warrenville South Tournament this weekend.
The Griffins took third place in the Gold Flight of last weekend’s Marist tournament, hosted by the defending state champions. Lincoln-Way East beat Lincoln-Way Central, 25-22, 25-15, in the third-place game.
Tournament leaders for the Griffins at Marist included Matt Murphy (18 kills, 17 blocks), John Kanapick (21 kills, 20 blocks) and Greg Magrum (32 kills, 31 digs).
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“Our team played very well over the weekend, beating some quality opponents, and we played Marist very tough as well,” Lincoln-Way East coach Kristopher Fiore said. “Right now we are dealing with some injuries, so we are looking for someone to step up this weekend as we are heading to one of the most challenging tournaments in the state at Wheaton Warrenville South.”
The Griffins opened tournament play in strong fashion on Thursday, beating the host Tigers, 25-17, 14-25, 25-17, as well as Naperville Central, 25-18, 28-26.
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Their record stood at 7-1 heading into the weekend's tournament play.
Griffins Win 2nd Straight in Boys Tennis
The Lincoln-Way East boys tennis team (3-3) heads into Saturday’s home quadrangular against Lemont, Reavis and Downers Grove South with some momentum after beating Bradley-Bourbannais, 6-1, on Monday and Minooka, 7-0, on Tuesday.
Top singles player Kamil Cwikla and second singles player Jeremy Dancu both won twice this week. On Monday, doubles tandems of Jeremy Falbo/Justin Dancu, Adam Corazzi/Jake Stoiber, Mike Prokop/Ty Scaletta and Vince Dinolfo/Steve Adamitus all were victorious. On Tuesday, the doubles squads of Adamitus/Dan Cesario at third doubles and Mike Deering/Jackson Whitman at fourth doubles also won.
Phoenix Fall to Defending State Champs in Volleyball
The Lincoln-Way North boys volleyball team (6-1) came up short against defending state champion Marist last Saturday in the Marist Invitational. Marist beat Lincoln-Way North handily, 25-14, 25-10, to win the Gold Flight title. Jake Walenga and Justin Morris were named to the all-tournament team. Walenga had 28 kills, a .304 hitting percentage, 3 aces and 17 digs. Morris had 24 kills.
Losing to a powerhouse like Marist should do little to deter the team from having a great spring.
“We have high expectations for our team this year, as we always do,” Lincoln-Way North coach Matt Lawrence said. “We will continue to work hard in practice and we expect to compete with the best teams.”
Other notables during Marist Invite action included Erik Fjeldheim (42 digs), Joe Pognant (17 kills, 7 aces, .300 hitting percentage) and Zak Erdman (86 assists, 5 kills, .833 hitting percentage).
The team returned to action on Wednesday, and the Phoenix handled Mount Carmel, 25-23, 25-15. Erdmann led the way with 18 assists, Fjeldheim contributed 16 digs and Pognant had three aces
Lincoln-Way North will travel to Marian Catholic next Tuesday and will host Neuqua Valley on Thursday.
Two Shutouts for Lincoln-Way North Girls Soccer
After dropping a 1-0 decision to Sandburg, the Class 3A runner-up last year, and battling to a draw against Downers Grove South, the Lincoln-Way North girls soccer team picked up victories last Saturday and Thursday.
The Phoenix blanked Tinley Park, 4-0, on Saturday in winter-like conditions and then spanked Joliet West, 5-0, on Thursday.
In the win over Tinley Park, Rita Craven had a pair of goals. Craven was back at it on Thursday with three assists. Lexi Cesario had two goals and Jessica Bean, Jaime Beniac and Kaci Jazo also scored in the win against Joliet West.
Michelle Balcerzak was in goal for both shutouts.
Griffins Knock Off Andrew, L-W Way West in Girls Water Polo
The Lincoln Way East girls water polo team (2-1) hopes to make the biggest splash this weekend as it hosts a tournament. The Griffins head into play on Friday night with some momentum after picking up two victories earlier in the week.
The Griffins beat Andrew, 13-9, on Tuesday, as Mary Reilly had seven goals and Trish Paul made 16 saves. On Thursday, the Griffins survived seven goals from Lauren Majewski to beat Lincoln-Way West, 11-7. Zoe McCabe had four goals and two steals and freshman Jill Connolly had 13 saves in the win over the Warriors.
“They’re finally getting into the groove,” Lincoln-Way East coach Jennifer Klein said. “We’re working out the kinks right now, and they did better this week than last and hope to continue improving.”
L-W East Honors Kelly Laas
Before Thursday’s softball game against Lincoln-Way North, Lincoln-Way East honored former player Kelly Laas, a 2007 graduate who died in March of ovarian cancer. Laas’ number has been retired and a memorial featuring a plaque and her uniform will remain at the softball field.
Stately Score for L-Way Boys Gymnasts
The Lincoln-Way co-op boys gymnastics team posted a season-high score of 159.9 on Tuesday against Andrew/District 230 co-op. The score was the highest in the state this season.
