Joliet Catholic turns to Murphy, beats Montini

NORMAL - Montini might have surprised Joliet Catholic somewhat early, but in the end what the Angels did to win didn't surprise anyone.

Joliet Catholic bounced back from a first-game loss to the Broncos by using the powerful and precise hitting of Western Michigan recruit Mary Murphy to upend Montini 22-25, 25-19, 25-19 in the first semifinal of the Class 3A girls volleyball tournament at Redbird Arena on Friday evening.

"It was a great match," said Montini coach Steve Dowjotas. "Both teams had their runs. We were really prepared for them and they were really prepared for us. In the end they were able to beat our block."

The Broncos (23-12), playing in their first state final girls volleyball tournament, will take on Breese Mater Dei (37-4) for third place at 4 p.m. Saturday. Joliet Catholic (25-16), in the Final Four for the first time since 2010, takes on St. Francis (37-4) at 5:30 p.m. for the state championship.

Montini's block was effective and a bit surprising to Joliet Catholic in the first game, but after dominating the middle part of the game, the Broncos allowed Joliet Catholic to gain some momentum at the end. That carried over into the rest of the match. The Broncos won the first game on a kill from sophomore Bethany Loftus after the Angels had closed to within 24-22.

"They blocked a lot better than I thought they would, and they were scrappier than I thought they'd be," Murphy said of the Broncos.

Joliet Catholic rolled out to a 7-3 lead in the second game, and the closest Montini could get the remainder of the game was 21-19 on another Bethany Loftus kill. Ahead 23-19, the Angels used back-to-back aces from sophomore Taylor Zurliene to tie the match.

And that's when it became Murphy time. The 5-foot-10 setter not only did her job at that position, but she took over the net as well, registering 9 of her match-high 17 kills in the final game, including three down the stretch when the Broncos tried desperately to get back into the game after falling behind 21-16 in what was otherwise a close game.

"She's a great player," Dowjotas said of Murphy, whose sister Kelly plays for the USA National Team. "Down the stretch they gave her the ball when they needed to and she scored the points they needed. We came out strong, but once we realized we were 25 points away they got a little tense and our serve receive broke down some."

Murphy added 17 assists and 7 digs for the Angels, and senior Madeline Grimm had 12 kills. Megan Melone had 22 assists and 8 digs, and Meghan Harrison 8 digs as Joliet Catholic had an impressive 45 digs in the match.

"Our goal was to do it in two. I guess three just made it a little more exciting," Murphy said. "We were a little nervous in the first game, but between the first and second games something just clicked and we just went out and did what we had to do."

St. Louis recruit Monica Loftus led the Broncos with 11 kills. Senior Mary Bowe added 9 kills and 12 digs, and junior setter Gina Cappetta had 23 assists.

"People thing we're under dogs all the time," Bowe said. "Just showing up and proving ourselves like we did, I think we surprised them."