Girls volleyball: Freshman Lynch makes immediate impact at St. Viator

In his 16 seasons, directing the St. Viator girls volleyball program, Charlie Curtin has had his share of freshman starters.

But never did one produce the amount of kills this early in a season as Ellen Lynch did on Tuesday night at the Cahill Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

The 5-foot-10 rookie from Our Lady of the Wayside in Arlington Heights put down a match-high 8 kills as the Lions topped visiting Rolling Meadows 25-13, 25-16 for their third straight win without a loss this season.

"It's crazy," Lynch said of her big night. "I can't believe it. It's so much fun."

And doubling the fun for Lynch was the fact that many of her sets came from none other than her sister, senior Mary Grace Lynch.

"It's the first time we've had a sister/sister combo like that," Curtin said, "It's kind of crazy that they're able to step in and have that kind of camaraderie and connection like that."

Mary Grace Lynch finished with 14 assists while classmate Louisa Battin handed out 6 along with collecting 5 digs.

Senior Marcelina Gorny added 7 kills and classmate Ella Trieloff added 6 with 8 digs, 2 assists and 1 block.

Ellen Lynch had 2 kills early to help Viator to a 3-1 lead.

Meadows (3-3) closed to within 8-7 on a kill by Nicole Dimova but the hosts gradually pulled away to a 19-10 advantage.

"We have a real good attitude no matter what happens," said Gorny, who hopes to have a Division II or III school selected by the end of September. "Even if it isn't going our way in the beginning, we just need to reset and take a deep breath, Everyone just has to do their job."

Trieloff did the job serving in Set 2, recording 5 straight points to lift the hosts to an 11-8 lead they would never relinquish.

Senior libero Reanne Valera (6 digs) then served back-to-back aces and 3 straight points for a 15-9 advantage.

"We're definitely trying to work on team chemistry and trying to figure out the lineup," said Meadows coach Katie Nickle. "The girls have been working really hard in practice and we just need to show that on the court.

"I thought the middles (Charlotte Errico and Linnea Fahnoe) did a real good job. We've been working pretty hard on blocking recently and I thought the girls set the block real well. Some of the defensive situations and broken plays are what we need to be working on and making things a little more crisp."

The Lions have found their stride early and hope to maintain that pace.

"It's really just a team effort," Ellen Lynch said of her big night. "I can't get them (kills) without a good pass and a good set and that's just my teammates putting in 150 percent effort every single ball."

"After the season we had last year (33-6 and advanced to Elite Eight) we have high hopes this year," Gorny added. "We have high goals again and even though we have some young players, after these first three matches, I definitely see good things in the future for us."

Ellen Lynch sure showed her future is bright.

"She has played very well," Curtin added. "She wants to learn and she continues to ask for ways to improve."