Lincoln-Way North and Sandburg have waged plenty of boys volleyball battles over the last few years. The duo won’t stop any time soon.
Sandburg and North get another chance to duel — this time playing outside of SouthWest Suburban Conference ramifications — on Saturday in the championship quarterfinals of the 24-team Brother Rice Smack Attack.
The Phoenix dispatched St. Patrick 21-25, 25-19, 25-22 in their opener and beat Eisenhower 25-12, 25-20 in the nightcap at Saint Xavier University to move to the gold division.
Sandburg defeated St. Rita 25-15, 25-17 and Plainfield East 25-17, 25-16 to advance.
“Hopefully this one will be different than the last time,” Lincoln-Way North outside hitter Ethan Klosak said. “We had a rocky start (Friday), but hopefully we come out guns blazing against Sandburg.”
Klosak appears in line for another all-tournament performance after posting 11 kills and two aces against St. Patrick and eight kills and two aces against Eisenhower. The 6-foot outside hitter already has all-tournament honors to his name from 24-team invites at Marist and Warren.
Jake Chudzik added five kills and four aces for North (14-5) against Eisenhower (13-6), which played without starting middle hitter Robert McCoy.
Meanwhile, Sandburg (11-4) moved on despite using a makeshift lineup. Most of Sandburg’s seniors — including standouts Paul Chmura and Kyle Van Stedum — were absent while attending prom.
Grant Burden led the Eagles with 26 assists, while Tajai Ling contributed 11 kills through two matches.
“It’s tough replacing four-year starters like Paul and Kyle, but we communicated and played well together,” Burden said. “Having veteran players, you get to lean on them. But (Friday), we had some younger guys step up and it was a good experience for us.”
No. 1 seed Glenbard West (14-0) made short work of its competition in pool play, outscoring Providence and Reavis 100-44 in four sets.
“They’re the real deal,” Providence coach Kyle Klaver said. “From one through 16, they’re legit.”
Providence (11-10) rebounded to top Reavis 25-13, 25-15 to advance to the silver bracket. The win didn’t come without a toll, however. Providence middle hitter Mike Daly, the best player on the team, left the match after rolling his ankle. Klaver said he is doubtful for Saturday.
Marist (11-8) would have advanced to face Glenbard West in the quarterfinals, but the No. 8 RedHawks fell to No. 9 Glenbrook North 25-17, 26-24.
“It was an even matchup,” Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said. “It came down to a couple points, and we just couldn’t convert in some spots where we needed to. We had trouble containing their two big middles.”
Patrick Bradford was strong at the net with five blocks against Glenbrook North (12-7). Brian Barry and Matt Padlo added five kills apiece in the loss.
Other championship quarterfinal matches include Brother Rice vs. Naperville Central, and Indiana reigning state champion Chesterton vs. Lincoln-Way Central.
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Brother Rice is the defending Smack Attack champion. The championship quarterfinals kick off at 9 a.m. at Saint Xavier University with the finals slated for 2 p.m.
Baseball
Lincoln-Way East 4, Richards 3: Brandon Skopick hit a two-run single and Kenichi Haynie added an RBI double to propel Lincoln-Way East (7-9). Nick Mejia stroked a two-run single for Richards (8-9).
Bremen 8, Rich Central 0: James Christ (6 strikeouts) pitched a two-hitter to lead Bremen (13-7). David Strom (2-for-4, RBI) and Chris Ramos (1-for-3) chipped in two runs apiece for the Braves.
Providence 5, De La Salle 4: Jackson Stulas’ two-run single in the bottom of the fifth capped a four-run rally for Providence (16-3, 6-0) in the Catholic League crossover. Tom Duddleston had two doubles and two RBIs to spur De La Salle (7-11, 3-6).
Lincoln-Way West 8, Oak Forest 3: Dan Allen (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) hit a solo homer and scored three runs to power Lincoln-Way West (15-3). Drew Dominik (2-for-3, run) had an RBI for Oak Forest (11-7).
Morgan Park 7, Jones 6: Joshua Shaw (2-run single) generated three RBIs for Morgan Park (14-6, 4-2 Jackie Robinson South).
Argo 13, Kennedy 3: Ryan Czajowski (2-for-3, 5 RBIs) swatted a grand slam to spark Argo (5-10).
Lyons 9, Lincoln-Way North 6: Tom Szczasny (2-for-2, run) provided two RBIs for Lincoln-Way North (14-6-1).
Bloom 12, T.F. North 0: Everett Swinson (3-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) was among the standouts for Bloom (8-10).
Ag. Science 12, Little Village 2: Kevin Glynn racked up two triples and four RBIs to steer Ag. Science (14-3, 8-0 Sammy Sosa).
Marian Catholic 9-10, Marian Central Catholic 3-3: Mark DiLuia (3-for-5, 3 runs) had five RBIs and also pitched a complete game in the finale to pace Marian Catholic (9-3-1, 3-1 East Suburban Catholic).
Softball
Lincoln-Way East 3, Lincoln-Way Central 2: Blake Ruiz’s fielder’s choice grounder in the top of the seventh scored Jenny Van Geertry with the winning run for Lincoln-Way East (11-2). Jackie Farbak hit a two-run single to aid Lincoln-Way Central (12-7).
Argo 15, Bremen 9: Taylor Skraba (3-for-4, double) contributed a home run and three RBIs for Argo (4-9-1, 4-6) in the South Suburban crossover.
Marist 7, Benet 2: Hayley Franks (2-for-3) supplied a two-run triple and four RBIs to vault Marist (13-4-2, 9-0 ESCC). Winning pitcher Zariya Gonzalez (4-hitter, 9 strikeouts) tacked on two hits and two runs for the Redhawks.
Ag. Science 4, Eisenhower 3: Colleen Curtin’s two-run double in the bottom of the seventh lifted Ag. Science (9-3).
Illiana Christian 4, Guerin 2: Ashley Wiltjer homered and chalked up three RBIs to key Illiana Christian (6-8, 5-1 Metro Suburban East).
Shepard 6, Evergreen Park 4: Heather O’Kelly (4-for-4, run) tripled and batted in three runs for Shepard (17-3, 9-2 South Suburban Red) at the Ballpark at Rosemont.
Plainfield North 5, Providence 2: Jessica Cothern and Morgan Greenwood posted RBIs for Providence (8-8).
Trinity 7, Lincoln-Way West 1: Amanda Ruskowsky ripped an RBI single for Lincoln-Way West (11-7) at the Margie Wright Showcase in Metamora.
Girls Soccer
Lockport 1, Homewood-Flossmoor 0: Stephanie Quigley scored and Cassidy Henson (4 saves) earned her seventh shutout to boost Lockport (7-4-2, 2-1 SouthWest Suburban Blue).
Logan Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Freelance reporter Josh Krockey contributed to this story.