St. Viator sends a winning message
St. Viator came out Monday night in their opening match at the Wheeling regional tournament looking to prove that it’s a force to be reckoned with.
Point made, and taken.
The Lions played almost error-free volleyball in an extremely impressive 25-8, 25-2 victory over Chicago Senn.
“We’ve been trying to cut down on our errors,” said Viator coach Chris Boylan, “but to be honest, the guys and I weren’t happy about being seeded 12th and having to play this (quarterfinal) match tonight.
“We wanted to show the teams that aren’t familiar with us that we can play.”
Senior middle Tom Aichele led the way for the Lions on attack with 9 kills while Brian Stewart and Anthoney Giovenco sparked a strong defensive effort.
“We were excited to play tonight,” said Stewart. “The excitement level died down a little in the first game when we ran out to such a big lead, but mentally we got back into it and kept the adrenaline going in game two.”
Viator went out to a 22-0 lead in set two before Senn got a sideout, but Giovenco said that the Lions were able to keep the pressure on.
“We didn’t take them lightly at all,” added the junior. “We came out and fought on every point.”
Brennan Harrington had 3 service aces and Ethan Wolf added 2 more, while Matt Michalik swatted 7 kills and Ryan Schiller and Ryan Lavelle got 2 apiece.
The Lions (15-15-1) return to Wheeling to play Loyola at 7:30 p.m. in a regional semifinal.
“We needed to get on a roll, knowing we had to come back and play Loyola,” said Boylan. “They’re a great team, and it’s going to be a battle.”