Another big tournament, another near-championship run for right-side hitter Ryan Banky and libero Tom Kleist.
For the second week in a row, Banky and Kleist propelled Brother Rice to a second-place finish in one of the state’s premier in-season tournaments.
The latest was Saturday at the 24-team Lincoln-Way East Invitational, where the Crusaders stormed through the bracket before falling to top-seeded Lake Park 15-25, 25-18, 15-10 in the finals.
“This shows us we can compete with them,” Kleist said. “We just have to be confident and come in and play hard. Our confidence was higher (than last week). We had great energy the whole match. If we do that — keep those things up — we’ll be a hard team to beat come playoffs.”
Kleist delivered 12 digs, Banky had 14 kills and Joe Kenzinger added eight for Rice (24-6). It was a much more spirited finals performance for the Crusaders compared to last weekend, when Glenbard West routed them for the 24-team Smack Attack title.
It’s also a positive because Lake Park (26-1) holds the only win this season over Glenbard West (23-1).
“We played really well the whole tournament,” Banky said. “Facing two of the top teams in the championships … I thought we played a lot better in the championship this week. Fear was a little bit of an issue against Glenbard West, but I don’t think that was the case here at all.
“We came out really hot, and we just lost it toward the end. We can contend with anyone.”
Banky and Kenzinger were named to the all-tournament team. Setter Matt O’Donnell contributed 35 assists in the final.
Brother Rice looked like it might break through with a signature win, taking Game 1 and leading 6-2 in Game 2. But Lake Park’s defense tightened, and its serve started to move the Crusaders out of system.
“Our defense was good, but we have to pick it up a little,” Kleist said. “Our serve receive broke down a bit. Fixing those things will take us to the next level.”
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In other action, outside hitter Colin Ensalaco and setter Connor Kelly led Sandburg to a third-place finish. The Eagles lost to Lake Park 25-16, 25-22 in the semifinals but rebounded to defeat Lincoln-Way Central 25-19, 25-22.
It was the eighth match of the week for Sandburg (12-7), which went two weeks without a match midway through April.
“It was tough with such a long gap (off), but we were ready to work hard and put in the time with eight tough matches coming up,” Kelly said.
Kelly, a senior, is doing a nice job of spreading the ball in his first year as a starter. Ensalaco earned all-tournament honors, while middle hitters Jake Ostema and Jake Keefe also made their presence felt.
Lincoln-Way West finished seventh, and Lincoln-Way East, which competed without its seniors during pool play because of the school’s prom, took 10th.
Baseball
Eisenhower 9, Rich East 4: Henry Aranda pitched a two-hitter in five innings and struck out eight for Eisenhower (7-11).
Evergreen Park 15, Ag. Science 5: Dan Reynolds had three runs and two RBIs for Evergreen (11-9).
Lincoln-Way Central 4, Stagg 1: Aaron Anderson’s two-run double in the seventh boosted Central (13-6).
Marian Catholic 5, St. Viator 1: Jordan Smevoll pitched a four-hitter for Marian (14-5, 8-1 ESCC).
Mount Carmel 14, St. Francis 0: Danny Trudeau and Zak Styka combined on a one-hitter for Mount Carmel (19-3, 10-2 Catholic Blue). Macauley Kilbane added three runs and two RBIs.
Providence 9, Marmion 3: Logan Anderson had four RBIs for Providence (12-10, 7-5 Catholic Blue).
St. Laurence 6, Loyola 3: Matt McCormick had two RBIs for Laurence (21-1, 11-1 Catholic Blue). Marius Balandis allowed one earned run and struck out eight over 5 2/3 innings.
Tinley Park 8, Simeon 7: Tim Lash contributed a two-run double and three RBIs for Tinley (12-7).
Softball
Argo 16, De La Salle 6: Franny Beggs hit a grand slam and Samantha Stahl added five RBIs for Argo (10-8).
Chicago Christian 6, Wilmington 3: Hannah Dieck pitched a complete game and had two RBIs for Chicago Christian (12-7).
Providence 6, Montini 1: Hannah Falejczyk totaled two homers and four RBIs for Providence (16-7, 10-3 GCAC Red).
Lockport triangular: Courtney Schoolcraft went a combined 5-for-7 with three runs and 10 RBIs as Lockport (22-2) beat Plainfield East 10-0 and Lake Park 20-4. Elena Woulfe added five hits and six runs.
Girls soccer
Andrew 2, Hinsdale South 2: Bridget Melody and Erin Jaskierski scored for Andrew (10-5-2).
Argo 3, Kennedy 0: Michelle Benitez had one goal and one assist for Argo (8-8).
Boys volleyball
Lafayette (Mo.) Invitational: Rocky Mayer totaled 127 assists and 38 digs over five matches for Marist (23-6), which defeated Vianney (Mo.) 22-25, 28-26, 15-5 for third. Marty Jepsen added 53 kills.
Friday’s resultsBaseball
Chicago Christian 4, Beecher 0: Tyler Edgar gave up two hits and struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings for Chicago Christian (27-0).
Homewood-Flossmoor 7, Crete-Monee 3: Justin Correll went 3-for-4 with three runs for H-F (9-9).
Lincoln-Way Central 12, Thornridge 0: Trey Korbel and Matt Helwig combined on a no-hitter for Central (12-6, 5-2 SWSC Red).
Lincoln-Way West 3, Bradley-Bourbonnais 1: Vinny Schroeder hit a go-ahead single in the sixth for West (14-8-1, 7-0 SWSC Red).
Lockport 3, Marist 2: Brent McDowell’s tiebreaking double sparked Lockport (11-8).
St. Rita 4, Marmion 1: Logan Strutz pitched a one-hitter and struck out eight for Rita (17-4, 9-2 Catholic Blue).
T.F. South 7, T.F. North 1: Emmitt Kienzle allowed three hits in five shutout innings for South (12-10, 6-5 SSC Blue).
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Softball
Andrew 18, Thornwood 1: Ella LeMonier was 3-for-3 with four runs and four RBIs for Andrew (13-7, 4-2 SWSC Red).
Bradley-Bourbonnais 8, Lincoln-Way Central 4: Amanda Weyh posted a double and two runs for Central (14-5, 5-1 SWSC Red).
Illinois Lutheran 20, T.F. North 7: Mollie Hinz went 5-for-5 with a grand slam and seven RBIs for Illinois Lutheran (10-11).
Marian Catholic 1, Stagg 0: Danielle Thieman threw a two-hitter for Marian (7-10).
Marist 2, Mother McAuley 1: Angela Zedak pitched a complete game and also scored a run for Marist (12-3).
Oak Lawn 12, Morton 2: Natalia Rafacz paced Oak Lawn (12-6) with two doubles and five RBIs.
Richards 9, De La Salle 3: Angela Abrand contributed a three-run homer and four runs for Richards (10-9).
Sandburg 7, Minooka 6: Brianna Johnson’s eighth-inning RBI single boosted Sandburg (17-7).
Tinley Park 8, Lemont 5: Kristin Kavalauskas homered for Tinley (14-1, 11-0 SSC Blue).
T.F. South 8, Illiana Christian 4: Jacquelyn Davidson went 3-for-3 with three runs for South (10-10).
Girls soccer
Beecher 9, Rich East 0: Katie Bireline and Maddie Jansen scored three goals each for Beecher.
Women’s golf
CCAC Meet: St. Xavier’s Taylor Thompson (164) tied for second after shooting a final-round 82. The Cougars (710) finished third in the 10-team event at Flossmoor Country Club.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed.