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NEW LENOX – It is still early in the boys volleyball season, and Providence and Joliet Catholic are trying to figure out their best combinations on the floor.
On Monday night, the two rivals met, and Providence’s combination proved to be better, as the Celtics came away with a 25-22, 25-20 victory.
“We served a lot better tonight,” Providence captain Sean Dovin said. “We missed a lot of serves in our tournament Friday and Saturday. Today, we served better and didn’t give away as many points.
“Our regular defense was better today, too. We were able to get a lot of balls up instead of them going to the floor, and that starts the offense for us. Everyone is getting better with every game, and that’s all we can ask for.”
The match was tight early before Providence (3-4) went on a 6-0 run to stretch a 10-9 lead to 16-9, getting two kills from Christo Krabbe and one from Will Sullivan. Krabbe, his brother, Nico, and Ethan Matton each had a team-high four kills for the Celtics, with Dovin adding three. Nico Krabbe had a team-high 15 assists.
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JCA (1-4) chipped away at the lead, eventually pulling to within 24-22 on a kill by Aydan Garcia, but Providence won the set on the next point on a kill by Christo Krabbe.
“We served better tonight,” Providence coach Lee Rucinski said. “That has been our bugaboo early in the season. We’ve been good at getting sideouts with our defense, but we have been making too many serving errors to get big runs going. The way we served tonight was a lot different than how we did over the weekend.
“I thought Nico Krabbe and his brother, Christo, both played well. Nico is very good at deciding when he is going to attack rather than set, and he was very efficient with that tonight, and they came at very timely spots in the match.”
The second set was tight most of the way through, with ties at 1, 2, 4, 9, 11 and 12. JCA took a 13-12 lead on a serving error, but the Hilltoppers were never able to regain the lead after Providence tied it on a serving error, took a 14-13 lead on a four-hit violation and went ahead 15-13 on a kill by Matton. JCA rallied to tie it at 16 on a block by Austin Bernhard and again at 19 on an ace by Miles Czerkies, one of only three seniors on the JCA roster. Czerkies finished with a match-high seven kills.
“It’s still a learning process,” JCA coach Jeffrey Budz said. “We are such a young team, but I have seen growth every day. As long as we keep doing that, things will start to click and we will make big strides.
“Miles Czerkies had a great match for us. He is a great leader. He sets well and he swings very well. As his leadership skills continue to improve, he will definitely be a menace for other teams.”
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After the tie at 19, Providence outscored JCA 6-1 down the stretch to complete the victory, with Christo Krabbe delivering kills on two of the final three points.
“Sean Dovin played well for us tonight,” Rucinski said. “He’s very solid on the floor, and he has that experience that we need. His serves help us out a lot, too.
“We started playing games last Monday, and I haven’t had the same starting lineup yet. The guys are still getting used to each other on the floor, what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are. Once we get that figured out, we hope to have a pretty good season.”