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player ready...The final chapter is in the books for Lincoln-Way North, but it wasn’t just any ordinary last page.
The conclusion, prompted by North closing its doors at the end of the school year, brimmed with suspense and a star player going out with a bang.
Outside hitter Ethan Klosak put an exclamation point on a stellar career with 19 kills, 11 digs and three aces. But it wasn’t enough to lift the Phoenix past Minooka in a wildly entertaining Lockport Regional championship match.
Loyola recruit Brandon Baranski recorded 14 kills as Minooka captured a 28-26, 20-25, 25-19 victory on Wednesday night.
“This was a super fun match to play in, but obviously we didn’t get the result we wanted,” Klosak said. “I was very proud of our team and happy with what we did with all the adversity we went through. In the end, we didn’t go off as we planned.”
Klosak played like a man possessed in Game 1, blasting shots from all over the court to lead the third-seeded Phoenix (31-7) to a 19-9 advantage. But Minooka (34-3) never quit.
The second-seeded Indians stormed back as Baranski and Grant Ooms (nine kills) landed the final two kills to put Minooka on top.
Phoenix setter Jake Snyder returned for his first full match since suffering a dislocated clavicle less than a month ago.
“We didn’t have any urgency,” Snyder said. “We didn’t even realize they were catching up. We thought we had the game in the bag.”
Snyder finished with 38 assists, Matt Shemanski had six kills and Aric Faller and Tim Marc tallied five kills apiece for the Phoenix.
“I did not expect us to come back from that first game the way they did,” Minooka coach Janel Grzetich said. “I was so proud of the heart they showed.
“(North) is obviously a very, very strong team. Hats off to them. (Klosak) is phenomenal. He gave us a run for our money.”
Klosak, a Dominican recruit, will go down as one of the best players in North history.
“Good God, there’s not a weak part of his game,” Phoenix coach Matt Lawrence said.
But for as strong as Klosak and North played, the Phoenix couldn’t overcome Ooms and Danny Beaudin (nine kills) in Game 3. The pair put together an unrelenting finish to send Minooka to a sectional semifinal to meet top-seeded Lincoln-Way East.
“A couple plays didn’t go our way and we never could overcome the gap in Game 3,” Lawrence said.
“It’s been awesome (at North). I love the people I coached with, the kids I’ve coached and our athletic director (Matt Lyke) has been awesome. It was a great first job for me. It couldn’t get any better.”
Lawrence led North to a state runner-up finish in 2013 and a final record of 227-70. He will take over the girls program at Lincoln-Way West next season.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
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