Boys Volleyball: Lockport bows to Joliet Catholic
By Tim O’Brien For Sun-Times Media May 21, 2012 11:22PM
Lockport coach Austin Lindley has made the same point over and over again this season with his team:
Focus on the point at hand and good things will happen.
“We talk about it multiple times daily,” Lindley said. “Sometimes they just lose focus (in matches). We try to run drills to simulate finishing because that’s been our Achilles’ heel.”
In Monday’s Lockport Regional quarterfinal, the host Porters appeared ready to use momentum from a Game 2 win, but faltered in the third, ending the season with a 25-18, 23-25, 25-17 loss to Joliet Catholic.
Frank Limandri (11 kills), Ben Wheaton (4 kills, 4 blocks) and Jason Hicks (4 blocks) led Lockport (8-16). Nolan Hucek (35 assists), Mike O’Neill (16 digs, 9 kills) and Louis Dow (7 kills, 16 digs) powered Joliet Catholic.
Having pulled away late in Game 2, Lockport lost its momentum in between games. Joliet Catholic raced to a 12-6 lead in Game 3 and was able to hold off several Porters charges.
“We were blocking, we were hitting,” Lindley said. “All the things we talked about after the second game. In Game 3, we couldn’t get back in rhythm.”
Caleb Parkinson and Hicks combined for a huge block that cut into the deficit at 13-11, but the Porters would get no closer. Joliet Catholic closed the match on a 10-5 run, advancing on an O’Neill kill.
“Too little, too late,” Lindley said. “Usually going into a third game, we come out and fall behind 7-1. We came out a little bit, but then we rolled over. We just gave away too many points in a row. They try to battle back, but we’ve dug the hole too deep.”
Lockport had beaten Joliet Catholic twice during the regular season.
