Girls volleyball: Powerful Carmel handles St. Viator

One team at .500. The other, the home team at 11-1. A romp?

At least in the first set it was as Carmel took down St. Viator by a convincing 25-14 score.

There were seven ties in the second set and with Erin Aldana on the serving line, the young Lions were up 13-12.

Carmel (12-1) held serve, though and ended up winning the match 25-14, 25-22 in East Suburban Catholic Conference girls volleyball action on Tuesday night.

The hitting hero on this night for the winners was the southpaw pounding of Riley Clark.

"I'd say it's partially from having a lefty in the lineup,'' Clark noted.

Shannon Brennan, the Carmel setter, found Clark early and often on this night.

She threw the Lions a compliment for keeping the second set close.

"It's a conference game,'' Brennan noted. "But I kept on finding Riley."

St. Viator coach Charlie Curtin is now in his 14th season at the helm of the Lions. His team is 6-5 after the defeat, but he attributed some of it to his team's youth.

"We made some young mistakes,'' Curtin admitted. "But I'm proud of them for keeping rallies going."

Curtin, who took the Lions to a fourth-place state finish a couple of years ago, predicts a bright future for the present team.

The opening set was knotted at 6-6. That's when Brennan was at the serving line. Clark and Annie Bart put down kills. It was 11-7 Carmel.

Brennan was back at the line during another rally. Clark had a block and a kill and the Corsairs' lead was 21-13.

In the second set, Vicky Gorny stood out for St. Viator. Three times in row, she stalled the Carmel offense with kills. The last time in set two was 20-20 on another Clark kill.

Mya Mainzer joined in the fun late in the final set with a kill for Carmel.

Fresh off a win over state power Marist, this Carmel team appears to be the real deal.

"That was amazing,'' Clark said of beating Marist. "That was the best feeling ever."