With this weekend’s key Rich East tournament rapidly approaching, many of the area’s top-ranked volleyball teams took Wednesday night off.
Except for No. 5 St. Francis and No. 7 Downers Grove South.
Both tuned up for the weekend by sweeping past opponents. Downers South knocked off Willowbrook 15-1, 15-6, and St. Francis improved to 17-1 and 7-0 in the Suburban Catholic with a 15-2, 15-8 victory over Aurora Central Catholic.
Erica Greer had eight kills to lead the St. Francis offense.
Kelly Baker had 14 service aces to lead Downers South (6-1, 2-0 West Suburban Gold), and Kelsey Manning added 10.
Glenbrook South d. New Trier 15-10, 16-14: Kelly Bradley had 11 kills for Glenbrook South (9-1, 4-0 Central Suburban South).
Holy Trinity d. Lourdes 15-10, 17-15: Qiana Young had eight kills and three blocks for Holy Trinity (8-4, 3-0 GCAC Blue).
Homewood-Flossmoor d. Thornton 15-1, 15-0: H-F cruised in the SICA East behind Anne Krol (five aces, seven assists) and Megan Bramlette (five kills).
Bradley-Bourbonnais d. Kankakee 15-8, 15-13: Brandi Pettelle had 11 kills to lead Bradley (11-4, 2-0) in the SICA South.
Oak Forest d. Bremen 15-9, 15-12: Pam Bihlmeier had six kills and 13 digs to lead Oak Forest (4-8, 3-2) in the SICA Central.
Niles West d. Maine East 15-3, 15-3: Kate Wielgus and Jennifer Riefenberg each had six kills for Niles West in the Central Suburban South.
Palatine d. Stevenson 14-16, 15-5, 15-1: Vesna Grbavac was 13 of 14 serving and had two aces and 10 kills for the Pirates (18-1).
Regina Dominican d. Mother Guerin 15-7, 15-10: Shante Haymore had six kills for the Panthers (8-0, 5-0 GCAC).
Rich Central d. Crete-Monee 3-15, 15-12, 15-8: Rich Central (8-7, 1-1) rallied in the SICA South behind Joy Rauch (13 blocks and 10 kills) and Kim Marks (10 kills).
Rich South d. Rich East 15-1, 15-5: Stephanie Spain had five kills to lead Rich South (10-7, 2-0) in the SICA South.
St. Benedict d. University High 16-14, 15-9: Lisette Sifuentes had five aces and eight assists for the Bengals (5-5).
Shepard d. Bloom 15-10, 12-15, 15-13: Lisa Pyznarski had eight service points, four aces and 10 kills for the Astros (8-3, 1-1 SICA East).
T.F. South d. Hillcrest 15-7, 15-3: Liz Biushas had 14 assists and Amanda Davy Romano six kills for the Rebels (5-6, 4-2) in the SICA Central.
Woodlands Academy d. Willows Academy 8-15, 15-10, 15-12: Christina Marino and Amanda Marko each had nine service points and Jackie Gibson had six kills for the Wildcats (6-5, 4-1 Independent School League).
Soccer
Clemente 2, Kelly 1: Bernie Mencos had the winning goal in the shootout for Kelly.
Curie 2, Kennedy 1: Peter Koscielniak scored the winning goal for the Condors (6-1).
Homewood-Flossmoor 3, Bloom 0: Troy Stagg scored on a penalty kick to give the Vikings (8-3, 3-2) a first-half lead in the SICA East.
Grant Park 1, Illinois Lutheran 0: John Ekhoff scored in the 63rd minute for the victory.
Marist 1, Joliet Catholic 0: Derek Cuculich’s penalty-kick goal in the game’s final minute was the winner for Marist (4-2-1, 2-1) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Northridge Prep 2, Holy Trinity 0: Marc Cesario had eight saves to pick up his second shutout for Northridge Prep (6-5-1, 3-0) in the Chicagoland Prep.
Roosevelt 6, Sullivan 0: Alex Erdei scored twice and Hector Sanchez had 12 saves in getting his third shutout for the Rough Riders (4-1).
Shepard 3, Bremen 1: Three different players scored as Shepard (7-3-1, 5-1) prevailed in the SICA East.
St. Viator 6, Carmel 2: Jon Foley had two goals and two assists to lead St. Viator (5-3-3, 4-0) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Tilden 5, Washington 1: Oscar Pimentel and Juan Gallardo each had a pair of goals to lead Tilden (5-1, 4-1) in the Public Red South.
St. Charles tournament: Kevin Brady had a pair of goals for top-ranked St. Charles (9-1-1). . . . Mike Grygo had two goals to lead Conant (11-2) past Stevenson 5-1.
