The first week of the volleyball season is in the books, and there might not be a bigger surprise around the Southland than Lockport.
The Porters made their first ever trip to the championship bracket at the 24-team Marist Invitational with pool-play victories over Andrew and Marian on Friday.
The wins didn’t stop there.
Matt Sadler and Phil Holle put down six kills apiece as Lockport dispatched Lincoln-Way Central 25-22, 25-15 for a fifth-place showing on Saturday.
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“That’s the best finish we’ve ever had in this tournament,” Lockport second-year coach Nick Mraz said. “In my opinion, we have a team that can compete with anyone. We’ll fly under the radar because we’re Lockport, but we’re going to lift some eyebrows.”
Danny Woulfe contributed nine digs for Lockport (4-1). Freshman Anthony Pfieffer and Ryan Sadler, Matt’s cousin, dished eight assists each.
The Porters added a victory over Waubonsie Valley. Their lone defeat came via Benet, which finished second to champion Naperville Central.
“We’ve come a long way,” Matt Sadler said. “Nick Mraz has done a fantastic job preparing us. We doubled our wins last year from the previous year and we’re trying to keep going up.”
Lincoln-Way Central (4-2) still has high hopes for the season behind a bevy of strong hitters and first-year coach Neil Lucchetti, but the Knights couldn’t get their attack going due to some aggressive serving by the Porters.
“When you’re struggling to pass, it’s hard to use the firepower that you have,” Lucchetti said.
Mark Sargis led Central with six kills, while 6-7 Connor Hipelius (Lindenwood) had five. Mike Kulinski chipped in 15 assists and two aces.
Marist is another program that appears to be taking a step forward. With a favorable schedule, the host RedHawks went 3-0 before falling to Benet in the semifinals and Elk Grove 25-19, 25-23 in the third-place match.
Marist (4-2) received more than 20 assists per match from Aaron Kummer during Saturday’s championship flight.
“We’re putting a lot on Aaron’s shoulders,” Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said. “He’s very versatile. We just need to keep getting reps as we implement some new things.”
In other action, Lincoln-Way North (3-2) topped Waubonsie Valley for seventh. The Phoenix gave champion Naperville Central a stiff test in a 25-23, 25-23 quarterfinal loss but dropped their next match in three to Lincoln-Way Central.
Andrew (5-1) emerged victorious in the silver bracket with consecutive wins over St. Rita, Mount Carmel and Providence to take ninth place. Mount Carmel defeated St. Charles East for 11th.
Boys Volleyball
Bison Battle Tournament: Grant Burden distributed 114 assists over five matches and Paul Chmura put down 47 kills to pace Sandburg (4-1), which fell to Glenbard East 25-22, 25-20 in the final at Buffalo Grove. Jake Hanes added 32 kills and 13 blocks for the Eagles.
Baseball
Providence 11, Minooka 1: Jimmy Jeffries (3-for-4, 2 doubles) stroked a two-run double and finished with four RBIs to steer host Providence (2-0) in the six-inning game.
St. Laurence 14, Richwoods 6: Mike Finger (2-for-4, run) and Nick Verta (1-for-4, run) each recorded three RBIs to power St. Laurence (2-0) in Peoria. Kevin Aderman added four runs for the Vikings.
Plainfield Central 8, De La Salle 7: Tom Duddleston, Jake Haynes and Joe Gazzi contributed two RBIs apiece for visiting De La Salle (0-2).
Play the Turf Jamboree: Dan Vos earned a victory and also had four RBIs as Chicago Christian (8-0) swept Rockford Christian 11-6 and Reed-Custer 14-0 in Jacksonville.
Softball
Nazareth 11, Reavis 4: Hope Stepuncik (3-for-4, 2 RBIs) was the standout for visiting Reavis (3-1).
Girls Soccer
Providence 3, Beecher 0: Mikayla Sanders (goal, assist) and Cory Griffith (2 assists) sparked Providence (4-1) to a third-place finish in the Windy City Ram Classic at Toyota Park.
Plainfield North 2, Sandburg 1: Sarah DeWolf scored for visiting Sandburg in its season opener.
Boys Indoor Track & Field
Proviso East Midwest Classic: Ahmad Knight, Juawan Treadwell, Tiyen Simmons and Jermaine Averhart won the 800-meter relay (1 minute, 33.91 seconds) in directing Crete-Monee (73) to first place in the 20-team meet at Proviso West.
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Boys Water Polo
St. Rita 12, Stagg 11 (OT): Eric Johnson scored five goals, including the winner, in guiding St. Rita to the title at the Niles West Invitational.
Girls Water Polo
Lincoln-Way Central 7, Lincoln-Way East 5: Delaney Shepard and Kim Bernhard netted hat tricks to propel Lincoln-Way Central in the championship of the Lincoln-Way East Invitational.
College Baseball
Lewis 9-4, McKendree 8-0: Brandon Collins scored on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 12th to aid Lewis (8-10, 4-6) in Game 1 of the GLVC East doubleheader. Eann Cox allowed three hits in going the distance for the Flyers in the nightcap.
St. Francis 1-17, Holy Cross (Ind.) 0-9: Adam Panayotovich (5-hitter, 7 strikeouts) pitched his third consecutive shutout and tied the school record for career victories (33) to lift host St. Francis (8-18, 4-3) in the opener of the CCAC South doubleheader. Mario Hernandez (3-for-5, 2 runs, 4 RBIs) starred for the Saints in Game 2.
Men’s Volleyball
Lewis 25-26-25, IPFW 16-24-17: Greg Petty registered 14 kills and six blocks to spur visiting Lewis (19-2, 10-1) in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Scott Fifer chipped in 31 assists for the Flyers.
Lourdes (Ohio) 26-25-25, St. Xavier 24-20-14: Sean Barry had 13 kills and Moises Lopez compiled 34 assists to lead St. Xavier (12-15) in the Great Lakes semifinal in Cincinnati.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed to this story.