Two ascending boys volleyball programs made it to the championship of the eight-team Eisenhower Invitational on Saturday.
Illiana Christian booked its ticket to the finals with a three-set victory over top-seed and returning champion Eisenhower.
T.F. United, a program that went 0-22 in 2013, advanced behind the stellar all-around play of junior outside hitter Julian Ayar, a three-year member of the varsity.
“We now have a feeling that we can win and go far,” Ayar said. “This team has a good chemistry.”
Some of that rapport was built when T.F. United topped Illiana Christian last weekend, but the Vikings returned the favor in Blue Island. Ryan Vree had five blocks and three kills as Illiana Christian took a convincing 25-13, 25-23 championship victory.
“We were a little bit down after taking 12 days off for spring break,” Illiana Christian coach Nikki Van Dyke said. “The guys had to realize that 12 days is a long time and we were behind.”
Vree and 6-8 middle hitter Ryan Barnes helped make up for lost time. Barnes added four kills, four blocks and two aces as the duo dominated the action at the net.
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“I thought Ryan and I did a really good job of controlling the net and taking away their middles,” said Vree, a 6-5 sophomore.
Aaron Barnes dished 10 assists and Chad Van Drunen had three digs and two aces for Illiana Christian (9-3).
Ayer paced T.F. United (10-7) with seven kills and an ace. Eddy Boutcheko added four kills.
“We’re disappointed with the finish (Saturday), but we’re pleased with the way we’re coming,” T.F. United coach Peg Haney said. “Julian is key for our team. All the guys have been working hard this offseason.”
Illiana Christian ruled the serve-receive en route to an easy Game 1. It appeared the Vikings would cruise to the title after taking a 22-14 advantage on an ace from Ryan Barnes in the second game, but T.F. United responded with seven straight points, including a kill and block from Ayar.
“We’ve got a lot of young potential,” said Ayar, noting just two seniors on the roster.
The teams traded the next four points before Vree put down a block to seal the match.
“We’re tall this year, but height aside, we work so well together,” Van Dyke said. “This is my favorite team I’ve ever coached. This is my sixth year. They’re fun to be around.”
In other action, Eisenhower (11-4) defeated Homewood-Flossmoor 25-23, 13-25, 25-21 for third. The Cardinals, playing without standout middle hitter Robert McCoy, used eight kills apiece from Vinny Curta and Mike Konczal to rebound after a lackluster semifinal.
“We got down on ourselves, we argued a little bit, but that’s what families do,” Konczal said. “But like families do, we always find ways to pick each other up.”
Reilly Dougherty led Homewood-Flossmoor (5-13) with seven kills and two aces. The Vikings need one more victory to double last season’s win total in coach Bob St. Leger’s second year guiding the program. St. Leger coached Marist to the 2010 state championship.
Streamwood Invitational: Anthony Pfeiffer totaled 67 assists, 19 kills and nine aces over five matches for Lockport (17-2), which beat St. Francis 25-19, 25-18 for the title.
Baseball
St. Rita 12, St. Joseph 1: Marty Bechina (3-for-3, double, triple, 4 RBIs) led St. Rita (20-0, 4-0 Catholic Blue).
Mount Carmel 15, Bishop McNamara 3: Scott Kapers (2-for-4) hit a grand slam for Mount Carmel (14-1, 4-0) in the Catholic League crossover.
Lincoln-Way North 4, Lemont 0: Liam Jenkins pitched five innings and Josh Mutter had three RBIs for Lincoln-Way North (12-5-1).
Reavis 14, Romeoville 1: Abe Kheireddin (2-for-4) had four RBIs for Reavis (7-8).
Oak Forest 8, Illiana Christian 1: Drew Dominik (2-hitter, 7 strikeouts) pitched five shutout innings and also had an RBI double for Oak Forest (8-6).
Providence 16, Fenwick 2: Justin Hunniford (3-for-3, double) had four RBIs for Providence (13-2, 4-0 Catholic Blue).
Richards 2, Andrew 1: Ryan Renken pitched a complete game and Nick Mejia (2-for-3) hit a two-run homer for Richards (6-7).
Lincoln-Way West 10, Clemente 0: John Saffrahn (3 innings, 7 strikeouts) and two relievers combined on a no-hitter for Lincoln-Way West (13-2).
St. Laurence 7, DePaul Prep 3: Anthony Rios (2-for-4, double) had four RBIs for St. Laurence (12-3, 3-1 Catholic Blue).
Marist 4-1, Notre Dame 0-0: Jack Snyder (2-hitter, 5 strikeouts) pitched a complete game in the opener and Pat Meehan (3-hitter, 7 strikeouts) went the distance in Game 2 to pace Marist (12-1, 2-0 East Suburban Catholic).
Softball
Lemont 7, Lincoln-Way North 1: Anna Smagacz and Rylie Jay each went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs for Lemont (9-3).
Lockport 5, Peotone 4: Tara McElligott’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh spurred Lockport (11-4).
Reavis 3, Willowbrook 2: Marissa Meskill hit a tying double in the bottom of the sixth and scored the winning run for Reavis (8-8).
Chicago Christian 13, Argo 9: Abbie Bulthuis (RBI) was 5-for-5 with three runs scored for Chicago Christian (5-6-1).
Shepard 7, Hinsdale Central 5: Skylor Hilger’s three-run homer aided Shepard (14-2).
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Crete-Monee 9, Eisenhower 1: Amanda Buzan had four RBIs to lift Crete-Monee (4-5).
Andrew 1, Richards 0: Maddie Sherwood (2-hitter, 5 strikeouts) and Miranda Humes (RBI double) led Andrew (9-4).
Beecher 17, Reed-Custer 2: Taylor Johnson (2-for-3, 4 runs) hit a three-run homer for Beecher (11-2).
Lincoln-Way West 3, Oak Forest 0: Amanda Ruskowsky starred on the mound (4-hitter, 6 strikeouts) and at the plate (2-for-4, double, run) for Lincoln-Way West (7-6).
Marian Catholic 10-20, St. Viator 0-1: Susie Baranski (8-for-8, 8 runs) had two homers and nine RBIs for Marian Catholic (11-2, 3-1 ESCC).
Mother McAuley 12-3, Resurrection 0-2: Amy Balich (3-for-5, 3 runs) homered in each game for McAuley (12-3, 2-0 GCAC Red).
Marist 7-21, Fenwick 1-4: Zariya Gonzalez was 8-for-9 with seven runs and seven RBIs for Marist (10-4-2, 6-0 ESCC). She pitched a one-hitter and struck out 12 in the opener.
New Trier 5-5, Sandburg 4-8: Maggie Lehr (4-for-4, run) had three RBIs for Sandburg (11-7) in Game 2.
Providence 9-8, Benet 1-2: Taylor Young (4-for-9, 3 runs, 3 RBIs) was among the standouts for Providence (8-5, 7-1 ESCC).
Girls Soccer
Lincoln-Way East 1, Hinsdale South 0 (SO): Kim Seper made three saves in the shootout for Lincoln-Way East (9-4-2) in PepsiCo Showdown’s consolation bracket.
Boys Track & Field
John Bell Invitational: Tionte McDaniel won the 100 (10.99 seconds) and 200 (22.38) for champion Thornton (110.5). Demitruis Mitchell added victories in the 110 hurdles (14.75) and 300 hurdles (39.41).
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed to this story.