At the most opportune time, Lincoln-Way East received a nice surprise with a late addition to the lineup.
Less than two weeks ago, the Griffins suffered a setback when senior middle hitter Mike Herlihy was initially ruled out for the season with a hand laceration. The Loyola recruit required 16 stitches on his left hand.
After being cleared by his doctor Thursday, Herlihy delivered five kills in limited duty as Lincoln-Way East defeated Oak Park-River Forest 25-22, 25-20 in Friday’s state quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates.
The Griffins advanced to Saturday’s 11 a.m. semifinal against New Trier, which defeated St. Rita 25-16, 25-18.
Neuqua Valley beat Lincoln-Way West 26-24, 23-25, 25-23 and will face Glenbard West (37-3) at 10 a.m. in the semifinals. Glenbard West beat the Griffins in last year’s state championship match.
Lincoln-Way East (37-3) clearly became energized by the return of the 6-foot-6 Herlihy, who donned a black wrap with a small cushion inside.
“We just had to get (Mike) cleared, so we had to wait until the end of the week to get a doctor’s note,” Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore said. “We then had the doctor look at his hand to make sure they were comfortable with some type of wrap.”
In his first action of the playoffs, Herlihy wasted little time making an impact. In Game 1, he came off the bench and immediately had a kill to force a 14-14 tie.
“It’s awesome being back, especially with this team because we click really well together,” Herlihy said. “Coming back in right where I left off was pretty cool.”
Ian Piet, another a Loyola signee, led a balanced Griffins attack with nine kills. After the Huskies (28-8) tied Game 1 at 19-19, the Griffins pulled away and maintained that momentum through Game 2.
Piet, a senior outside hitter, said the Griffins are motivated to play for the state title again.
“It’s been the only thing basically driving us,” Piet said. “Every day in practice, we talk about going back to finals. …We just want a second chance.”
In its first trip to state, Lincoln-Way West (30-9) battled to the end. Game 3 featured six ties and two lead changes, but the Warriors made some late errors and couldn’t contain Neuqua Valley’s Jeremy Grove.
The senior outside hitter finished with a personal-best 31 kills on 57 attempts to lead Neuqua (32-7).
Junior outside Ben Pluskota repeatedly kept the Warriors in the match with highlight-reel plays to register 21 kills while hitting at a .450 clip. David Flores contributed 43 assists for the Warriors.
“We were chasing,” Lincoln-Way West coach Jodi Frigo said. “We put up a fight at the end, but we just needed a dig or stop and it could’ve gone either way.
“This has been a fun year, a great group of guys. We kept improving.”
St. Rita’s season ended in a 39-minute loss to the Trevians (34-6), who are in their fifth straight trip to state. Sophomore Colin Dahill had seven kills for the Mustangs (21-19), while junior Quinn Coghlan finished with four kills and three digs.
New Trier’s size and depth overwhelmed St. Rita, which relished being at state with thoughts of a quick return. The Mustangs lose only two players to graduation from their top seven.
“We didn’t hit our stride until late in the season,” St. Rita coach Brian Hagen said. “We’re young, and I’m excited where we’re going and expect to be down here again.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
