Joliet Catholic tops Hinsdale South

Updated: September 1, 2011 7:36PM

Joliet Catholic is showing off a killer instinct, and that’s only in the second match of the season.

The Angels, ranked fourth in the preseason by YourSeason.com, toppled second-ranked Hinsdale South 21-25, 25-23, 26-24 Tuesday night in Darien. To pull out the win, Joliet Catholic rallied from match point, trailing 24-22, and scored the last four points to win the match.

Joliet Catholic (2-0) tied the final set on a block by Mallory Mangun and then earned kills by Hailey Pennington and Loyola-bound Morgan Reardon to end it. The defending Class 3A state runner-up Angels were coming off a season-opening victory over Mother McAuley last week.

“It’s a really tough beginning to the season,” Reardon said. “At least we know where we are and what to improve on. The tough first two games will help us in the long run.”

Joliet Catholic came back from a 20-17 deficit to win the second set. The Angels scored five consecutive points to take a 22-20 lead.

Reardon finished with a team-high 13 kills while fellow Loyola recruit, Kelly Feigh, added 10 kills. Jessica Brezwyn hammered a match-high 16 kills for Hinsdale South (3-4), which was coming off a fourth place finish at the Plainfield North Invitational Saturday.

For coach Lisa Martinez, the Hornets showed vast improvement after a slow start to the season. The team went through team bonding exercises Sunday, a day after playing in its first major tournament of the season.

“I think it was a moral victory in some aspects,” Martinez said. “They [the Hornets] came away wanting it.”

Reserve Rachel Kent came to Hinsdale South’s rescue in the first set with four of her seven kills. Three of Kent’s kills accounted for the Hornets’ final four points in the set.

Brezwyn, a junior outside hitter, had five kills in the third set, but committed a match-high five service errors. Melissa Nava, an Illinois-Chicago recruit, had eight kills and newcomer Alecia Kroeker, a move-in from Nebraska, had four blocks.

“It was kind of like a new day for us,” Brezwyn said. “The team bonding Sunday helped us a lot. It brought us closer together. Today we came out different.”

Mangun made her varsity debut as setter with 17 assists for the Angels after Lauren Robertson handled the setting for the season opener.

“Mallory was very impressive for a varsity debut,” Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe said. “She played with a lot of composure.”

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