L-Way West makes recovery
Updated: September 1, 2011 10:11PM
The marquee outside of Plainfield East was flashing “It’s best to be a Bengal.’’ Thursday night, anyway, it was even better to be a Warrior.
Lincoln-Way West’s girls volleyball team rebounded from a 14-6 deficit in Game 1 to earn a 25-21, 25-19 road victory.
“We’re slow starters,’’ Lincoln-Way West coach Rory Harrison said. “I don’t think that’s permanent. It’s our second match. We’re working out some kinks, some changes in position this season.’’
West rallied to tie the opening game at 18, and eventually went ahead 24-20 after a couple of Plainfield East errors before Rachel Johnson recorded the winning kill. Harrison attributed part of the comeback to more communication on the floor.
“We were letting balls fall, waiting to the last second,’’ Harrison said. “There was just a lot of hesitation in the decision making. We called a timeout, collected our thoughts and came back out there. I thought they looked like an entirely different team.’’
Sarah Wegrzyn finished with five digs and 10 kills, including one to give West a key 22-19 advantage in the opening game before the lead widened after a couple of errors.
“We pulled together as a team,’’ Wegrzyn said. “We really weren’t talking a lot. Our passes weren’t going to where they needed to be going and the hitters weren’t connecting with the setters.
“The second game we came out and we all had the adrenaline rushing in us.’’
West (2-0) also had key contributions from Kelly Staack (15 assists), Annie Wegrzyn (eight digs, four kills, two aces), Johnson (five kills, two blocks) and Carissa Lorenz (four blocks).
Therese Schultz helped close out the second game with a kill and a service ace among the final points.
Plainfield East (3-4) was led by Alexis Giurin (five kills, three aces, 12 digs), Justine Bunn (six kills, two blocks) and Allison Bowbin (six assists).
“Pride, heart, passion, mental part of the game, all that stuff, they were lax,’’ Plainfield East coach Kathleen Mixan said of losing the lead. “They had it in the beginning and then it went away that quick. We’re trying to drill into their heads you’ve got to have that the entire game, the pride, the passion.
“You’ve got to capitalize when it counts. From 14-6, that just can’t happen. We’re going to get there, a little more time. You can’t peak too early.’’
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