Captain Patzin delivers for Benet

Natalie Patzin is Benet's floor captain. The 5-foot-9 junior outside hitter took her title seriously Wednesday night.

Patzin delivered 3 clutch kills late in the first game that lifted the host Redwings to the opening victory and propelled them to a 25-23, 25-16 nonconference girls volleyball sweep of York in Lisle.

"I knew my team was counting on me," Patzin said. "When I went up to hit I was like, 'This one is going away.' "

With Game 1 tied at 21, Patzin landed a power tip to give Benet (7-0) the lead for good. She unloaded a big kill to make it 24-22. Two serves later, she pounded a kill off a block for game point.

Benet coach Brad Baker named Patzin as the floor captain, so she's the one who can talk to the officials when the need arises, but the captain spoke with her play on this night.

"The girls look up to her," Baker said.

Game 1 turned into a missed opportunity for York (4-3). The Dukes jumped ahead 7-3 and led by as much as 19-14 before Benet made a stand. The Redwings scored 7 consecutive points -- thanks in part to a pair of aces from Ariana Mankus and 3 York errors -- to move ahead 21-19.

The Dukes tied it on a kill from Kayla Mullaney and a block by Brianne Graunke, but the home team countered with a surge to take the first game.

"Benet did a great job, but we keep fighting ourselves," York coach Patty Iverson said. "We get to a point, we don't communicate, things get a little flustered and we make a couple mistakes in a row. We've been doing that so far this season. It's very disappointing to see.

"We have a relatively young team. We play a lot of juniors so we're just going to have to get beyond that and play better."

In Game 2 York built an 8-5 advantage, but Benet scored 9 straight points behind Jessica Jendryk's serving and 3 kills by Mankus.

Soon after that the Redwings used a 5-0 run capped by back-to-back aces by Mankus to claim a 20-10 cushion.

Fittingly, Benet wrapped up the match on kills by Patzin and Mankus. That gave Mankus a match-high 8 kills and Patzin 7.

"That was not a good match," Baker said. "The second game we played better, but the first game you could tell we were not 100 percent mentally ready to go."

Beth Kinsella collected 27 assists and 9 digs for Benet.

The Mullaney sisters, Meghan and Kayla, led York in kills with 4 apiece.

-- Dave Miller

St. Francis d. Aurora Central:ŒKelsey Vorgert's 10 service points and 5 aces sparked the Spartans (9-0, 3-0) to a 25-9, 25-13 victory in the Suburban Catholic Conference. Megan Barnicle blasted 8 kills in the win.

Waubonsie Valley d. Oswego East:ŒKassie Kadera's 15 assists and Joslyn Drew's 8 kills carried the Warriors (6-2) to a 25-20, 25-22 triumph in nonconference action.

IC d. Driscoll:ŒCatherine Guido's 19 digs lifted the Knights (5-3, 1-2) to a 25-18, 25-13 sweep in a Suburban Catholic Conference contest.

Fenton d. Walther Lutheran:ŒThe Bison (3-4) rolled to a 25-14, 25-17 nonconference victory behind Lauren Stanek's 26 assists, Sam Rubright's 5 blocks and 2 kills and Lauren Esmits' 16 digs.

Downers South d. Downers North:ŒThe Mustangs (3-0) fought back to earn a 23-25, 25-14, 25-17 win in the West Suburban Conference crossover powered by Kelsey Safranek's 18 kills, Marielle Oestermeyer's 9 kills and 7 blocks, and Katie Crawford's 30 assists and 3 blocks.

Hinsdale Central d. Timothy Christian:ŒThe Red Devils (3-4) rode Lindsay Homme's 7 kills and Amanda Freyn's 5 to a 25-10, 25-16 nonconference triumph.

Lyons d. Willowbrook:ŒWillowbrook (5-4) pushed the Lions to a third game before falling 25-14, 18-25, 25-17 in a West Suburban Conference crossover. Danielle Muhlena landed 8 kills and Collette Williams totaled 6 kills, 2 aces and 13 assists in the loss.

Rosary d. Montini:ŒThe Broncos (2-4, 0-2) received 4 kills from Stephanie Viane and 8 digs from Kara Schubert, but dropped a 25-18, 25-11 match in a Suburban Catholic Conference meeting.

Maine East d. Addison Trail:ŒCasey D'Ambrose collected 9 assists, 8 kills, 6 digs and 3 blocks for the Blazers (1-8), who were edged 26-24, 25-23 in the nonconference match.

Boys golf

Waubonsie Valley d. South Elgin, Lake Park:ŒPaul Asheim set the tone, and Waubonsie Valley used consistency to record its second consecutive Upstate Eight Conference triangular sweep.

The Warriors' senior was far from textbook in producing the low round of the afternoon at Indian Lakes in Bloomingdale, reaching the green in regulation on only a third of his holes.

But Asheim displayed a deft short touch from around the green, converting three critical up-and-down par saves, not to mention a 40-footer for bogey on last, to lead Waubonsie Valley to an 8-shot victory over both host Lake Park and South Elgin.

The Warriors' 161 total improved their record overall and in the league to 4-1; South Elgin (3-4, 2-4) used a fifth-card tiebreaker to eke past the Lancers, who fell to 2-3, 2-3.

"I didn't play well, but I played smooth," said Asheim, whose 2-over-par 38 edged the Lancers' Tom Murphy by a stroke for medalist honors. "I felt like I left (my misses) with a level shot to the green."

After negating a first-hole bogey with a birdie on the par-5 second, Asheim dropped another on the third and was facing a delicate putt on the fourth, a 190-yard par 3.

Asheim drained the 12-footer for par, however, the first of five pars in a row.

"I was looking for something to pull me through," Asheim said. "(Making the putt) really got my energy."

The Warriors then used a trio of 41s from Matt Nied, Josh Stefanski and Thomas O'Bryan -- the latter two freshmen -- to solidify their collective standing.

"We haven't gone crazy low (in dual-meet scores), but we haven't blown up," said Waubonsie Valley coach Dave Owles. "We've been consistent. The key (to winning the conference title) is you can lose once (during the regular season) and still control your own fate, your own destiny."

Murphy was the one bright spot for Lake Park; the junior overcame a first-hole triple bogey by playing the last eight in level par -- aided by birdies on both par 3s -- to post a 39 in the second slot.

"The bunker shot on the first hole (that led to the triple) was unacceptable," said Murphy, who added a pitch-in for par to preserve his play on the eighth.

"I just wanted to buckle down and play my game."

Ryan Smith, Greg Zernitz and Mark Kovach completed the Lancers' scorecard with a 41, 43 and 46, respectively.

-- Kevin McGavin

Boys soccer

South Elgin 11, Driscoll 0:ŒDriscoll started Wednesday's game a player down.

It didn't take very long for South Elgin to put the Highlanders in a grand-canyon sized crater. Javier Rojo scored less than two minutes into play, and James Hollander notched the first hat trick in school history as the Storm rolled past Driscoll 11-0 in a nonconference match-up at Millennium Field.

"If the opportunities are there to finish, we finish," South Elgin coach Mark Neville said. "They were outmanned number-wise from the beginning. We worked on touches on the ball, spreading the play of field and switching the field."

Driscoll goalie Andrew Strickland notched 12 saves, including 9 in the first half. The Highlanders (0-1) recorded their only shot of the game in the second half. Driscoll has struggled with numbers this season, with some kids opting to go out for football.

Driscoll coach Enrique Mendoza felt that even though his team had its problems in its opening match, he feels he saw some positives that his team can take into Monday's match against Addison Trail.

"We have a nice group of kids," Mendoza said. "I give a lot of credit to these kids."

-- Matt Stacionis