Downers Grove South pulls off comeback, holds off Providence Catholic’s own rally attempt for 3-set win

NEW LENOX – If you went to Providence Catholic on Monday night for an exciting volleyball match, you got it. If you went for a crazy comeback, you got it (a few times).

The match had a little bit of everything.

Downers Grove South dropped the back-and-forth first set, dominated the Celtics in the second set and were doing so in the third before Providence nearly pulled off as impressive a comeback as you’ll see. “Nearly” being the key word, as the Mustangs held off the rally for a 24-26, 25-17, 25-23 victory.

Downers Grove South (20-11) led 19-9 in that third set before Providence scored six straight points and 14 of the next 18. The sizable early edge allowed the Mustangs to hold on for a touch of revenge after the Celtics defeated them Saturday at the Lincoln-Way Central Invite.

“We just saw them on Saturday and dropped that match in three sets,” DGS coach Madisen Babich said. “This was almost an identical match. ... We kind of reflected on Saturday and looked at what we could change from then. At the end of the day, I think my girls just implemented the little things that we needed to change between those two games, which was pretty impressive for not having practiced since then.”

Babich said this was her first 20-win team in four years as head coach, so this year has been a return to glory for DGS. After not having played up to their own standards Saturday, Babich said she wanted her team to relax more Monday, serving them Bundt cakes on the bus before the game.

Clearly, that was the X-factor.

“I think honestly the Bundt cakes did it,” Babich said with a chuckle. “That’s OK too. Why not have a little fun and relax for a moment this last week?”

As for the match itself, the Mustangs were led by Sylvia Masiulionis (eight kills), Alex Barcenas (14 assists, three digs), Jayda Dixon (seven kills, three digs) and Keegan O’Keefe (four kills, two aces and three assists). Each and every one of those numbers was needed.

The teams exchanged points to start a first set Providence eventually won. The second set was no such competition, starting with a kill by Dixon, and the Mustangs built a 5-2 advantage. The Celtics hung around for a little while, trailing just 11-9 at one point, but another kill by Dixon kick-started an 8-1 run to give the Mustangs a 19-10 lead. The Celtics did rally a tad and outscored DGS 7-6 the rest of the way, but it was too late to win the set.

That’s when things got crazy.

The third set looked like it would be another dominant one for the Mustangs, as they started with a block by Jennifer Curran and piled up a 19-9 edge in the blink of an eye. The Celtics went on a magical run from that point, getting as close as 24-23 late, but a serving error by Providence resulted in match point going to DGS.

“We have to really go from the start at the beginning of each game and push hard for all of it,” Providence assistant coach Shannon Withers said. “We have to minimize mistakes. [Downers Grove South] came through with no mistakes when we made errors.”

The Celtics (26-8) will wrap up their regular season Thursday at Montini Catholic. DGS will have matches Tuesday (against Hinsdale South) and Wednesday (at Lockport). Barcenas is excited to see what happens in the postseason after the growth she’s seen in her four years with the program.

“Being a senior and getting 20 wins has definitely been [special],” Barcenas said. “I’m really proud of all the underclassmen and everyone who has been stepping up to make this change happen.”