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St. Francis tops St. Charles North in three games

After a strong opening set by visiting St. Charles North, St. Francis coach Mike Lynch told Jack McGuire to be more aggressive offensively.

The senior setter obliged.

Finishing with 8 kills and 2 blocks, to go along with 35 assists, the Dominican University recruit helped the Spartans come back to post a 16-25, 25-16, 25-21 win over the North Stars on Monday in the nonconference matchup in Wheaton.

"He told me to step up and attack more and that was in my head," said McGuire, who had a pair of kills and a block to help close out the third and deciding game. "We weren't really mentally prepared (at the start) and our passing in the first set wasn't how we wanted it to be. We talked about that after the first game and everyone really stepped it up."

St. Charles North (5-9) never trailed in the opening game, with Evan Cordt, David Beach, Zach Yakes and Tom Koppang all contributing a pair of kills while Kyle Donlevy drilled a pair of aces.

Beach had 10 kills in the match and Koppang totaled 6 kills and 3 blocks. Brendan Dal Degan also had 5 kills.

"We played phenomenal in the first set," St. Charles North coach Todd Weimer said. "And overall I thought that was one of our better matches I've seen. St. Francis did a nice job defensively and also with 50-50 balls. That might have been the difference right there."

St. Francis bounced back in the second game, jumping out to an 8-4 advantage and never looking back. Sean Riggs had 4 kills and McGuire and Anthony Clare had 3 apiece to lead the way.

The Spartans also started fast in Game 3, posting leads of 4-0 and 7-2. The North Stars pulled within 2 on a pair of occasions before falling short. Bayden Keown closed out the match with a kill, one of his team-high 10.

"I thought we played smart," said Keown, when asked what changed over the final two games. "We didn't just try to pound the ball. And it started with our passers, I give them full credit."

Clare finished with 9 kills for St. Francis (9-8) and Riggs had 7.

"We were really balanced offensively," Lynch said. "I think this was by far our best team effort, it wasn't just one player carrying us."

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