Andrew outside hitter Tommy Kelly said he never lost confidence in his team during Monday’s roller-coaster match against Providence.
He might have been the only one.
Andrew looked like a lock to advance in its postseason opener but nearly coughed up a 24-18 Game 3 lead.
Providence rallied back with six straight points to put the pressure back on until a kill from Brett Kozek and a Celtics setting error gave the host Thunderbolts a wild 23-25, 25-14, 26-24 victory in an Andrew Regional quarterfinal.
“The entire season we’ve been struggling to close out games,” said Kelly, who finished with a team-high 12 kills. “We were extremely weak mentally earlier in the year, but we’ve built on that. We’re a much better team now.”
Joe Jendra added 30 assists, Jack Pranckus had 16 digs and Danny Barlas seven kills for the Andrew (12-22), which advanced to play top-seeded Lincoln-Way East at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the regional semifinals.
“That’s definitely one of the craziest ones we’ve had,” Jendra said. “Throughout the season, we’ve had a lot of those. It feels good to finally be able to pull one out.”
Providence (15-16) received 12 kills apiece from from brothers Nathan and Zack Heller. The senior middle hitters combined for 6 1/2 blocks, while Bryan Gronek added 27 assists and 14 digs.
“We had no expectations down 24-18, so we thought to play carefree,” said Gronek, a two-time All-Catholic League pick. “If we made a mistake it was all over, so we went out there and hit as hard as we could. Unfortunately it fell on me and I made the mistake, and I take responsibility for it.”
Gronek was called for the final error, but he did plenty to keep the Celtics afloat. He had two kills and an ace in a four-point span to cut Andrew’s lead 20-16 after the Celtics appeared to be done.
“No matter what the circumstances are, you just gotta play your hardest,” Gronek said. “I feel like we did that. Even though our record slipped, we still always gave all our effort.”
Providence, which had an 11-4 record before being stung by injuries, cruised for the majority of Game 1. The Celtics led 20-12 until Andrew took a brief 23-22 lead on a kill from Kelly.
The Celtics scored the next three points to take Game 1, but Providence coach Kyle Klaver said Andrew’s late spurt turned the tide in the match.
“That was a huge momentum swing for them,” Klaver said. “They were swinging and working really hard. You’ve got to give them all the credit.”
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Kelly was a big reason for the change in momentum. The 6-foot-3 junior started attacking the line and Providence struggled to match him at the pins.
“(Kelly) can really turn it on,” Andrew coach Sean Carls said. “If I give him direction, he’ll go out and do it. He’s a great listener, and the game plan was to go line and tool their block.”
In other action at Andrew, Lincoln-Way Central beat Rich Township 25-9, 25-12 and Lincoln-Way West defeated Joliet Central 26-24, 25-19.
Marian Catholic Regional: Zak Piekarski dished out 13 assists as Marian (18-16) defeated Goode 25-5, 25-3. Julian Ayers posted 10 kills in leading T.F. United (14-10) past Brooks 25-11, 25-13.
Baseball
Crete-Monee 10, Thornton 0: Kent Evans scattered two hits to pace Crete-Monee (19-12) in the 4A Homewood-Flossmoor Regional.
Shepard 10, T.F. North 0: Jack Carberry hit a three-run homer for Shepard (19-16) in the 4A Sandburg Regional.
Ag. Science 11, Thornridge 1: Mike Cullen bashed a two-run homer to propel Ag. Science in the 3A Chicago Christian Regional.
Rich Central 18, Hillcrest 1: Reis Calvin had three RBIs and four stolen bases for Rich Central in the 3A Rich East Regional.
Lincoln-Way East 8, Chicago Christian 7: Hunter Smith’s RBI single capped a four-run seventh for host East (13-17).
Lincoln-Way West 5, Plainfield North 3: Ben Zordani had a solo homer and two RBIs for West (24-8).
Lockport 6, Plainfield South 4: Gavin Lovesky went 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs to spark Lockport (20-14).
Marist 13, Evergreen Park 1: Ryan Gausselin’s three-run triple keyed Marist (18-16).
Mount Carmel 6, Bremen 1: Bobby Seymour had two RBIs for Mount Carmel (25-10).
Oak Forest 3, Lincoln-Way North 2: Andrew Rodriguez hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to lift Oak Forest (26-7).
Providence 6, Minooka 3: Mike Madej belted a three-run homer and scored three runs to fuel Providence (26-9).
St. Laurence 10, Lake View 0: Anthony Rios contributed a two-run homer and three RBIs for St. Laurence (27-8).
Sandburg 8, Reavis 3: Troy Jones hit for the cycle and totaled six RBIs for Sandburg (24-6).
Softball
Hillcrest 13, Thornridge 2: Courtney Collier provided two runs and two RBIs to lead Hillcrest (6-19) in the 3A Tinley Park Regional.
Joliet Catholic 6, Plano 1: Alyssa Callans pitched a three-hitter and struck out 13 for host JCA (21-8) in the 3A regional.
Lockport 13, Herscher 5: Emily Dybas racked up three hits and three RBIs for Lockport (24-11).
Awards and honors
Nonnemacher heads local NFCA softball selections: St. Xavier pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher was named to the NAIA Great Lakes Region first team by the National Faspitch Coaches Association. Joining her were teammates Kasey Kanaga and Brittany Plimmer, along with St. Francis’ Sara Braden and Alex Wyss.
Net gains for Randall, Peshev: St. Francis tennis players Lucas Randall and Boris Peshev were selected all-conference in the CCAC.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
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