Boys’ Volleyball: Lincoln-Way East punches ticket to state, again

The Lincoln-Way East boys volleyball team is headed back to state, and Jared Byas helped make sure of that.

The senior outside hitter had a match-high 18 kills and added eight digs and 10 service points as the Griffins punched their ticket back to the State Finals with a thrilling 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Marist on Tuesday evening in the title match of the Sandburg Sectional.

Lincoln-Way East (33-6) will face O’Fallon, a 25-18, 25-21 winner over Plainfield East, at 1 p.m. in the third state quarterfinal match Friday at Hoffman Estates High School.

It is the sixth time in the past eight played seasons and the ninth overall trip to state since 2004 for the Griffins, who will try to bring back their sixth trophy and third title this weekend.

“To win six of eight sectionals in this sectional is very tough,” Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore said. “To win this says a lot about the leadership of this group. We could have sulked after losing that first set, but the kids didn’t. We weren’t going to be denied.”

A lot of that was because of Byas, who would come up with a key kill almost anytime the Griffins needed one.

“I knew my team had a lot of trust in me,” Byas said. “I just had to calm down and get some kills.

“After losing the first set we calmed down and knew we were here for a reason. Marist had some great runs, but we came through. Marist had a lot to say before the match, but we’re the ones moving on.”

Byas had six kills in the third set as the Griffins jumped out to a 3-0 lead and led the entire way. Ahead 17-14, Byas had a trio of kills in a 6-3 burst as Lincoln-Way East pulled away to a 23-17 lead.

Trailing 24-18, Marist (36-3) saved a trio of match points. But junior outside hitter Tyler Walenga (11 kills, 5 digs) hit the match-winner and the Griffins celebrated their second straight trip to state.

“Jared was unbelievable,” Fiore said. “His play has been the most consistent in the postseason. They’d try to get a block up on him and he’d hit around it.”

The match started with Lincoln-Way East jumping out to leads of 5-1, 7-2, 9-3, and 11-4. But the RedHawks chipped away to close within 12-10.

Down 18-14, Marist tied it for the first time at 20. Trailing 22-21, junior outside hitter Marty Canavan (12 kills) had back-to-back kills and outside hitter Kellen O’Keefe (5 kills, 2 blocks), who was the only senior starter for the RedHawks had kills in a 3-0 run. Byas saved a match point with a kill but a kill by junior middle blocker Mike Uldrych (10 kills, 2 blocks) ended the opener.

In the second set, the Griffins jumped out to a 5-2 advantage before Marist came back to lead 8-6. A kill by Walenga and back-to-back blocks by senior setter Jerry Moylan (34 assists, 7 digs, 2 blocks) sparked a 5-0 run and gave Lincoln-Way East the lead for good at 11-8.

Ahead 22-21, the Griffins got a kill from Byas, and a block from junior middle hitter Joey Glennon (4 kills, 4 blocks) to go up by three. Canavan carved out a kill to save a set point, but Byas bashed another bigtime kill to end the second set.

A key to the match was the play of Glennon and senior Jordan Hicks in the middle. Hicks had four kills and three blocks and knew what his job was.

“Mostly I would pull their middles away and let the pin hitters get their kills,” he said of Byas, Walenga and senior right side hitter Jon Guch, who had six kills. “We just had to keep the pressure on and go on big runs, that was the key.”

Fiore appreciated the play of his middles and Moylan.

“Our middles are not star players, but on other teams they would be,” Fiore said. “Jerry has set at a high level. The kids have a lot of confidence in him to run the show.”

Libero Sam Szafoni, one of nine Griffin seniors, added 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Alex Smith smacked seven kills and had four blocks for Marist. Freshman setter Christian Teresi totaled 38 assists and seven digs, while junior libero Brendan Schoeberl added 15 digs for the RedHawks.

The two teams played at the start of this season, with the RedHawks winning, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, on March 26 in the title match of the Marist Tournament.

It was the third straight season that the two powers played in the sectional title match. The RedHawks won 25-14, 25-11 in 2019 en route to the state title. There was no tournament in 2020 because of COVID. Lincoln-Way East turned the tables last season with a 26-24, 26-24 victory.

“I’m glad I get one more run at state,” Hicks said. “Last year we got fourth, this year we hope to win it.”