St. Francis handles Marian Central
Carly Warner keeps it simple on Sundays following tournament Saturdays.
“I relax,” said the St. Francis senior, “maybe take a few naps.”
Warner and the Spartans looked rested and ready Monday.
Perhaps taking momentum from a 3-2 finish at the Asics Challenge, No. 4 St. Francis dispatched Marian Central in surprisingly easy fashion 25-21, 25-12 at Spyglass Center.
“Saturday helped a lot. We were ready for Marian,” Warner said. “Playing all of those tough teams has made us a better team.”
The two teams traded a pair of grueling three-set matches last year, and St. Francis rallied from a set down to win in three in Woodstock in September. This time St. Francis (24-6, 7-0) never trailed again after grabbing a 9-8 lead in the opening set and now holds a commanding two-game lead on Marian Central (17-5, 5-2) in the Suburban Christian Conference Blue.
“We're not leaping forward, but we keep moving up. Hopefully we keep improving,” St. Francis coach Peg Kopec said. “I thought we looked good tonight.”
St. Francis appeared a little flat in the match's early stages. Marian Central, which itself also played in a tournament in Hampshire Saturday, grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the first set until a Daiva Wise block got St. Francis on the board. Three Wise kills and a Marian Central hitting error nudged the Spartans ahead 9-8 and a Warner kill made it 10-8.
Kopec was worried about her team's slow start against a good team.
“I was scared,” she said, “I was nervous. The last time we played them it was so close. (Down) 3 points, that's a big deal.”
Just like that, the switch flipped and it was Marian Central on its heels. St. Francis went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 21-13 on a Maddie Defino back-row kill that landed just in.
Marian Central answered with an 8-0 run to pull within 23-21, but a Hurricanes hitting error and Grace Churney kill gave the Spartans set point.
“We played really well against St. Francis the last time,” Marian Central coach Laura Watling said, “so I thought our chances were good. It's always intimidating to play in this gym but I didn't expect it from my girls. They kind of backed down and St. Francis took advantage of it. I wish I could tell you what happened, why we let up so much.”
The Spartans rolled in the second set, a Haley Gable kill helping them to a 3-0 lead. Up 18-12, kills by Mary Boken and Gable and three by Churney highlighted a match-ending 7-0 run.
St. Francis was on its game, much like on Saturday at the Asics in an impressive win over Cary-Grove. Coincidence or not, Cary-Grove is a short 15-minute drive from Woodstock.
“I did tell the girls that they (Marian Central's players) do kind of live by Cary-Grove,” Kopec said with a wry smile. “We had played so well against Cary-Grove. Apparently, that worked.”
Wise finished with 8 kills and Churney had 5 kills and 10 digs for St. Francis. Warner added 4 kills and 15 assists, McKenna Kelsay 10 assists and Boken and Michelle McLaughlin 4 kills apiece. Abby Gilleland had 13 assists for Marian.