Benet, Lockport Advance to Volleyball Regional Final

Lockport and Benet won in very different fashions in their Class 4A regional volleyball semifinal matches Thursday at Downers Grove South. But their separate paths led to the same place: Saturday's regional championship match.

Lockport (22-14) won Thursday's opening semifinal match against Naperville North 23-25, 25-20, 25-14 in an error-filled battle. Naperville North (20-16), backed by a raucous crowd, took the first game thanks largely to the play of senior Emily Koch. The Huskies also took advantage of several unforced errors by the Porters.

The second game was back-and-forth most of the way, with neither side able to gain momentum because of defensive errors. With Lockport leading 21-20, senior Alexis Davito stopped the Huskies with two defensive kills, giving the Porters the win. Davito, who had the best game of anyone in the regional matches by far, took control late in the third game with six straight service points to give the Porters the match.

"She can execute. She's the pressure player," Lockport coach Julia Hudson said of Davito.

Davito's aggressive jump-swing serve and constant defensive presence by the net kept the Huskies at a disadvantage for much of the game. Overall, Davito had 18 points, 14 kills and eight digs. She helped the Porters stay in the match against a scrappy Naperville North team.

"It wasn't our best match, but we can only improve," Davito said.

Napervile North coach Jennifer Urban remained upbeat even after a tough loss.

"This season was a success," she said. "We only had three returning players, and to win 20 matches with new people at almost every position … I'm very proud."

The Benet Redwings had to wait more than three hours before their match even started. They faced off against host Downers Grove South, which won the play-in match against Romeoville, 27-29, 25-13, 25-20.

Benet (30-6) had little trouble with the Mustangs, winning in straight sets, 25-18, 25-15. The Redwings committed several unforced errors early in both matches, but were able to pull through using their superior height and athleticism against the Mustangs.

"You wanna get the first one under your belt" Benet coach Kyle Reid said. "Just get that one out of the way. I thought we played pretty well."

When asked about the long delay, Reid shrugged it off.

"Is it ideal? No," he said.

Senior Lara Ontko led the Redwings with nine kills and four service aces in the match. Senior Kaitlyn King had 19 assists, and senior Alyson Farm contributed three service aces.

The Mustangs struggled against the Redwings' aggressive attack most of the night. Seniors Jenna Morgan and Courtney Conrad were the only ones who seemed to be able to crack Benet's formidable defensive wall. Morgan had six kills for the match and Conrad had two service aces.

Benet and Lockport have met before this season, with Benet winning in straight sets. Benet has won 11 in a row going into Saturday's regional final.