Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore admitted the Griffins had struggled against some of their taller competition through the first month of the season.
That’s why a Monday night clash against Sandburg, a team with six players listed 6-3 or taller, looked liked a poor matchup on paper for the defending state champions.
It wasn’t.
Lucas Galifos dictated the action at the net with four blocks and two kills and Lincoln-Way East derailed visiting Sandburg 26-24, 25-21 in a SouthWest Suburban showdown.
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“We’re not the tallest team, but we have a lot of jumping ability,” said Galifos, a junior who stands 6-6 and reaches 11-3. “We’re able to get our hands up and press and get those blocks.”
Galifos set the tone with back-to-back blocks early in Game 1, which seemed to deflate Sandburg’s attack in the middle for the remainder of the match.
“We knew he had a super high ceiling,” Fiore said of Galifos. “He could be an elite level player, and we want to get him there as fast as we can. He just doesn’t have the experience yet because he’s playing basketball in the offseason.”
Nick Lilley chalked up a match-high 11 kills and libero Robbie Hoffman added 14 digs for East (13-8, 2-1).
Paul Chmura paced Sandburg (8-4, 1-1) with seven kills and two blocks. Grant Burden dished 22 assists and Ryan Galvan had four kills and a block.
The first game could have gone either way. East stormed to an 8-2 advantage on a kill from Lilley, but Sandburg roared back for a 12-11 lead on a block from Tajai Ling.
The Eagles expanded their lead 20-15 on an ace from Scott Tablerion, but Lilley and Galifos were superb in sparking an 11-4 surge to close the set.
“Communication was the big difference for us,” Hoffman said. “We always like to talk, and (Sandburg) didn’t have the same communication that we did. I saw a lot of communication errors with the ball falling in between two players. That doesn’t really happen a lot on our side of the net.”
Sandburg coach Sean Airola concurred, also noting a lack of sets to 6-5 middle hitter Kyle Van Stedum as a reason for concern.
“When push came to shove — especially in the first set after giving up a big lead — they wanted it more than we did,” Airola said. “I don’t think our choices were great and I don’t think we utilized our middles enough.”
Game 2 featured seven ties, the last coming at 18 on a crosscourt kill from Chmura, a two-time Daily Southtown All-Area selection.
“He might not be the hardest hitter, but he hits the best shots in the state,” Hoffman said. “He can hit wherever he wants at anytime.”
The Griffins didn’t allow Chmura to get too many clean looks. Eric Hess broke the tie with a dump and Lilley recorded two kills over the next three points as East kept its foot on the throttle.
“We knew their middles and their outsides could hurt us, but our serving kept them out of system,” Fiore said.
Lincoln-Way North 25-25, Bolingbrook 19-18: Ethan Klosak registered 10 kills for Lincoln-Way North (11-5, 1-1) in the SouthWest Suburban crossover.
Andrew 25-25, Homewood-Flossmoor 13-11: Sanil Thomas totaled nine assists, six kills and six aces to steer Andrew (8-6, 1-1 SWSC Red).
Running
Boston Marathon: Timothy P. Scanlin of Mokena was the top Southland finisher, taking 971st with a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 10 seconds. Other top local runners included: Evergreen Park’s Daniel M. Lindbloom (1,140th, 2:52:04), Tinley Park’s Dan Woods (1,600th, 2:55:16), Alsip’s Christopher McGarry (2,019th, 2:57:38) and Markham’s Rick J. Rodriguez (4,200th, 3:08:05).
Baseball
St. Rita 10, St. Ignatius 0: Matt Lenzen (5-hitter) tossed a complete game and Steve Martinez (3-for-3, 2 RBIs) hit a solo homer to aid St. Rita (21-0, 5-0) in the Catholic League crossover.
Joliet Catholic 8, Nazareth 3: Connor Brandon tripled twice and scored four runs to propel Joliet Catholic (12-2, 3-0) in the East Suburban Catholic.
St. Laurence 12, Bishop McNamara 2: Frank Greco (2-for-4, double, triple, 2 runs) had three RBIs to guide St. Laurence (13-3, 4-1 Catholic Blue).
Oak Lawn 6, Reavis 4: Joe Dodaro’s three-run homer sparked Oak Lawn (9-9, 6-1) in the South Suburban Red.
Brother Rice 15, DePaul Prep 2: Ryan Kutt (2-for-2, double) provided two runs and three RBIs for Brother Rice (15-4, 4-1 Catholic Blue).
Mount Carmel 17, St. Joseph 0: Alec Thomas (2-for-3, 3 RBIs) belted a two-run homer to power Mount Carmel (16-1, 5-0 Catholic Blue).
Richards 7, Eisenhower 2: Nick Mejia (2 earned runs) pitched six innings and also went 2-for-3 with an RBI single to boost Richards (7-7, 4-3 SSC Red).
Lincoln-Way Central 13, Lincoln-Way East 2: Sean Studer hit a grand slam to spur Lincoln-Way Central (8-8).
Oak Forest 11, Argo 1: Luke Heniff (3-for-3, 2 runs) doubled and drove in four runs to lift Oak Forest (9-6, 5-1 SSC Blue).
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Ag. Science 13, Juarez 1: Tom Gleason contributed on the mound (complete game) and at the plate (2-for-3, 3 RBIs) for Ag Science (12-3, 6-0 Sammy Sosa).
Young 8, Morgan Park 7: Darius Hill chalked up a single and three runs for Morgan Park (15-7, 2-2 Jackie Robinson South) at the RailCats High School Challenge in Gary, Ind.
Evergreen Park 3, Shepard 1: Brian Pall (14 strikeouts) hurled a one-hitter in addition to smashing a game-winning two-run double for Evergreen Park (8-2, 4-1 SSC Red) in Gary, Ind.
Softball
Joliet Catholic 14, Ottawa Marquette 4: Winning pitcher Alivia Phelps swatted a grand slam to pace Joliet Catholic (7-8).
Mother McAuley 9, St. Ignatius 0: Amy Balich (3-for-3, 2 RBIs) scored four runs and Dara Sanders (5-hitter) struck out 10 to boost Mother McAuley (13-3, 3-0 GCAC Red).
Marian Catholic 10, Bishop McNamara 3: Allison Spence (complete game) went 2-for-3 with a double and three-run homer for Marian Catholic (12-2, 4-1 ESCC).
Lincoln-Way West 13, Joliet Central 7: Winner Amanda Ruskowsy (10 strikeouts) was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Lincoln-Way West (8-6).
Morgan Park Academy 17, St. Francis de Sales 11: Analiese Sori clubbed a grand slam to lead Morgan Park Academy.
Girls Soccer
Homewood-Flossmoor 1, Bolingbrook 0: Third-string goalkeeper Liz Voelker (8 saves) starred for Homewood-Flossmoor (2-9, 1-1 SWSC Blue).
Men’s Golf
GLVC Championship: Lewis’ Alex Thode (214) shot a final-round 71 to win medalist honors by nine strokes at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. The Flyers (897) also captured first place and the top seed in match play after edging Indianapolis by three shots.
Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Freelance reporter Josh Krockey contributed to this story.