Girls Volleyball: Mother McAuley tops Lockport
By Tony Baranek tbaranek@southtownstar.com August 28, 2012 10:38PM
Mother McAuley's Kelly Clarke (11) goes up for a kill against Lockport's Amanda MacNab and Gabby Martinez during their volleyball game in Chicago Tuesday, August 27, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: September 30, 2012 6:33AM
Mother McAuley didn’t by any stretch overpower or intimidate Lockport in Tuesday’s 25-18, 25-21 victory in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community.
But the Mighty Macs sure had all the angles covered.
Misdirection tips, soft taps to open holes, push shots to the corners and weird-angled saves along the net crossed and landed with an amazingly high rate of accuracy. And it made a difference.
“We’ve just got to find the spots on the court that are open,” setter Courtney Joyce said. “(Lockport) did the same things. In the end, it was who picks up more.”
Joyce landed four tips for kills and had 11 assists. Michelle Konecki (10 assists, 9 digs), Ryann DeJarld (10 digs, 5 kills), Kelsey Clarke (5 kills, 2 blocks) and Jenny Phelan (10 digs) also stepped up for McAuley (2-0).
No. 2 Lockport (0-1), making its debut under first-year head coach Erika Lange, was led by Kayle Pfeiffer (10 assists, 6 digs, 3 kills), Aubrey Ficek (6 digs, 4 kills), Amanda MacNab (7 kills), Katie Dugan (8 assists) and Katie Tabisz (3 kills, 3 blocks).
The Mighty Macs, five deep in sophomores and with just four seniors, showed few signs of youth.
Leading just 16-14 in Set 1, Maggie Scanlon sparked a 6-2 run with a service ace just out of the reach of a diving Lockport defender. Kennedy Arundel followed with a rifle shot down the left line. Joyce later added a misdirection tip and Kelly Clarke a pair of kills.
Lockport bounced back in Set 2, using a Pfeiffer tip and back-to-back kills by MacKenize Wasowicz to go in front 5-1. The Porters kept the lead and were positioned to pull away at 18-15 when McAuley landed an 8-0 punch. Gabrielle Ennis was key with a tip kill and a block as Michelle Konecki racked up seven straight service points.
It ended Lockport’s bid for a win, but the Porters went down swinging with late kills by Tabisz and Wasowicz.
“Our girls played smart and our serve-receive was where it needed to be for us to run a solid offense,” Lange said. “I actually am very, very happy with how we looked, with this being our first match and McAuley having already played.”
