Girls Volleyball: Joliet Catholic’s Scheibe nets win No. 400
By Tony Baranek tbaranek@southtownstar.com September 29, 2012 9:42PM
Joliet Catholic Head Coach Christine Scheibe, who won her 400th game earlier in the day, talks with her girls during a time out against Pius XI for the Asics Challenge at Mother McAuley, Saturday, September 29th, 2012 in Chicago, IL. | Gary Middendorf~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: November 1, 2012 6:29AM
If Joliet Catholic wants to make a return to state in Class 3A, the Angels will most likely have to conquer Wheaton-St. Francis at the sectional level.
In a head-to-head meeting Saturday at Mother McAuley in the Asics Challenge, they proved their worth with a 25-17, 23-25, 25-17 victory.
“That was a good win,” senior Morgan Reardon said. “It’s nice to know that we’re able to beat them. But we surely can’t think we’re going to (easily) beat them if we see them in the playoffs. It was a great match, a nailbiter.”
Reardon had a lot to do with making it go JCA’s way, putting down 25 kills. Julia Shemaitis added 13 kills and Mallory Mangun 36 assists.
The Angels (17-2) closed out their weekend by downing Pius IX 15-25, 25-13, 25-18 in the fifth-place match.
The win over Wheaton-St. Francis was a historic one for Angels coach Christine Scheibe, who posted her 400th career victory in her 13th season as a varsity coach.
“I don’t care so much for myself,” Scheibe said. “It’s just so nice to see these girls coming out and playing hard. We didn’t have a lot left in the cupboard after graduating all of our seniors.
“We knew we had Morgan Reardon coming back. But we have gelled as a team, and are going above and beyond expectations. For the girls, that’s just awesome. I’m just having a great time coaching this year. We’re coming out and having fun every day.”
The Angels opened tournament play with back-to-back victories on Friday over Downers Grove North (25-14, 25-12) and Berkeley Prep (25-20, 25-23).
Kentucky powerhouse and eventual tournament champion Assumption knocked JCA out of title contention Saturday morning in a 25-23, 25-18 sweep, but the Angels proved resilient the rest of the day, especially after a Set 1 loss to Pius XI in the fifth-place match.
“I think we came out a little flat and that kind of confused me,” Reardon said. “We had a lot of energy before the game. But then we turned it around really quickly.
“This weekend I think we realized that we really are a strong team and a force to be reckoned with. Every person on this team is a small part of everything, and it made for a good weekend.”
Reardon finished with 18 kills and four blocks against Pius XI. Katelyn Seeman added 10 kills, Maddie Naal six kills, Mangun 35 assists and Dana Nowaczyk 10 digs.
