Outside hitter Scott Christensen could be the lead attacker on plenty of teams.
Instead, Christensen is settling in just fine behind Pepperdine recruit Michael Wexter and MIT-bound Jake Gasparich on the state’s last remaining unbeaten team.
“There are a lot of teams he’d be the go-to (for),” Lincoln-Way West coach Brian Thorp said. “He’s a smart player and understands the angles and what blockers want to do.”
The junior showed a booming swing Thursday night against Lockport, one of the better blocking teams in the Southland. But a big block did little to slow Christensen and Wexter, who chalked up eight kills apiece as West throttled Lockport 25-15, 25-18 in a SouthWest Suburban showdown.
“Scott’s been looking for that breakthrough game, and the last few he’s had a plethora of kills for us,” Wexter said. “It’s been helpful.”
Wexter added 20 assists for the Warriors (18-0, 6-0). Standout athlete Dylan Kogut contributed seven kills and Jake Martin had 15 digs.
“When we’re in system, we really rely on Jake to put the ball away,” Christensen said. “But there’s options on this team. Dylan was putting the ball away awesome. I was able to do things when I could. We all stepped up.”
Matt Sadler paced Lockport (23-4, 3-2) with four kills and three blocks. Danny Woulfe had 11 digs and freshman Anthony Pfeiffer eight assists.
Lockport coach Nick Mraz said he’d heard rumblings around the volleyball community that West might not be as good as advertised. Consider Mraz a believer in the Warriors.
“They’re the real deal,” Mraz said. “They have all the pieces. They have the chemistry. They’re smooth with everything.”
Lockport won 17 straight matches before falling to Lincoln-Way Central on Tuesday. The loss to West gives the Porters, one of the state’s most pleasant surprises, their first losing streak of the season.
“Throw us in another conference and we’ll go undefeated,” Mraz said. “We’re here, and we’ve got so much talent everywhere, that it’s going to be a battle every night. We went 0-2 this week but look at the teams we lost to.”
Lockport wasn’t able to give 6-8 middle hitter Jon Wheaton many swings at the net, as Lincoln-Way West kept the Porters out of system with tough serves. Christensen had two aces. Wexter and Hugh Flores each had one.
Flores went on a torrid service run in Game 1. The sophomore defensive specialist scored eight straight points as West took an 11-2 lead. A block from Wexter later made it 16-4, and any doubt about West’s standing quickly went out the window.
“This is statement week, our coming-out party,” Thorp said. “This is the best volleyball we’ve played this season. We haven’t slumped yet.”
West will receive a few more stiff tests this weekend at the 24-team Lincoln-Way East Invitational. The Warriors are seeded second behind New Trier and just ahead of Sandburg.
“This win is going to give us some momentum heading into the East tournament,” Christensen said. “The two seed doesn’t matter to me. We can do anything.”
Softball
T.F. South 2, Andrew 1: Sydney Harrison’s two-run single made the difference for T.F. South (13-7).
Mother McAuley 8, Regina 2: Amy Balich (3-for-5, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) swatted a pair of homers for Mother McAuley (18-3, 7-0 GCAC Red).
Lincoln-Way East 10, Lincoln-Way North 3: Nicole O’Donnell (2-for-4, 2 runs) had three RBIs to pace Lincoln-Way East (14-2).
Reavis 16, Argo 5: Hayat Jafry (2-for-4, double, 3 runs, 4 RBIs) clubbed a three-run homer to propel Reavis (11-12, 8-6 South Suburban Red).
Marist 12, Richards 3: Brooke Wilson (3-for-3) had a double, triple and three RBIs to power Marist (16-4-2).
Lockport 10, Stagg 0: Toni Wolfe belted a two-run homer to aid Lockport (14-6, 5-2 SouthWest Suburban Blue).
Tinley Park 16, T.F. North 0: Lauren Buckwalter (2-for-3, 2 doubles) provided four RBIs for Tinley Park (14-5, 11-3 SSC Blue).
De La Salle 15, Resurrection 11: Amber Trendle (3-for-4, 3 run) had two home runs and six RBIs to key De La Salle (7-9, 2-4 GCAC Red).
Shepard 9, Oak Lawn 2: Jessica Coyle (3-for-4, run) had a two-run double and three RBIs for Shepard (18-6, 10-4 SSC Red).
Illiana Christian 10-19, Timothy Christian 1-5: Brittany White (4-for-6, 4 runs, 4 RBIs) starred for Illiana Christian (8-11, 7-2 Metro Suburban East).
Baseball
Lemont 1, Reavis 0: Nate Broskovetz (6 strikeouts) tossed a no-hitter to spark Lemont (11-6, 9-2 SSC Blue).
Beecher 10, Momence 0: Tanner Sadler (3 RBIs) ripped a two-run double for Beecher (8-10).
Shepard 2, Oak Forest 1: Bob Peterka’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh capped a two-run rally for Shepard (14-7, 8-3 SSC Red).
Tinley Park 8, Manteno 7: Connor Ceglarz (2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI) aided Tinley Park (15-7), which scored three times in the bottom of the seventh.
Richards 6, Bremen 5: Brett Thomas (double) scored two runs and also recorded the save to lift Richards (10-10, 7-4, SSC Red).
Andrew 6, Lincoln-Way North 4: Jack Crean hit a tiebreaking single in the top of the ninth to boost Andrew (10-12, 4-3 SWSC Red).
Bloom 7, Kankakee 1: Scott Humes (4-hitter, 10 strikeouts) steered Bloom (11-10, 7-1 Southland).
Oak Lawn 10, T.F. North 0: Boo Quillin (4-for-4, double) had three runs and two RBIs for Oak Lawn (14-10, 11-1 SSC Red).
T.F. South 5, Eisenhower 2: Reis Padjen went 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs for T.F. South (10-11, 6-7 SSC Blue).
Girls Soccer
Lincoln-Way East 2, Andrew 1: Jillian Kilrea netted both goals for Lincoln-Way East (10-6-2, 1-2 SWSC Red).
Badminton
South Suburban Tournament: Jenna Pasko captured first place at No. 1 singles and teamed with Brittany Arreola for the No. 1 doubles crown as T.F. South (43.5) won the championship.
Boys Gymnastics
SouthWest Suburban Meet: Andrew (124.2) beat Homewood-Flossmoor (88.6) and Lincoln-Way co-op (51.7) for the title. Andrew’s Derek Kwiatkowski won floor exercise (8.8) and pommel horse (6.7), while Lincoln-Way’s Tyler Greenberg was first on rings (8.4), high bar (5.9) and all-around (40.6). Andrew also had firsts from Omar Ashour on vault (8.8) and Ethan Doe on parallel bars (7.8).
Men’s Golf
CCAC Championship: Austin Gass (151) tied for second as St. Francis (625) was runner-up to Wisconsin’s Cardinal Stritch (603) in the 36-hole meet at Flossmoor Country Club. The performance also enabled the Saints to qualify for the NAIA Tournament.
College Softball
St. Xavier 2, St. Francis 0: Jessica Arebalo (2-for-3, triple) had both RBIs for top-ranked St. Xavier (42-5-2) in the CCAC quarterfinal at the Ballpark at Rosemont. Nicole Nonnemacher (2-hitter, 12 strikeouts) recorded her 14th shutout in improving to 23-3.
St. Francis 3, Calumet (Ind.) 1: Brooke Karraker (2-for-4, 2 runs) was among the contributors for St. Francis (30-16) in its tournament opener.
Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Freelance reporter Josh Krockey contributed to this story.
