In a matchup of the Public League’s two premier programs, it would only be fitting for the city title match to go three sets, with the league’s best players facing off against each other for the crown. Continue reading
Three weeks ago, without two starters, Young fell to Lane in the Northside tourney. Playing without two starters yet again, the Dolphins were looking to avenge that loss, but with a trip to the city finals on the line.
Young survived, defeating the Indians 25-20, 26-24 in a Public League semifinal Wednesday at Northside.
It wasn’t easy for the Dolphins. Lane led 15-11 halfway through the first set when something clicked for the Dolphins. They rattled off a 14-5 run to end the set, giving them the 25-20 win.
“Once we put a couple balls down, we became more confident,’’ said senior Tom Wesolowski, who had three kills of his game-high 16 kills in the closing run. “We just needed to refocus on what we had to do.’’
Much like the first set, the second started off as a back-and-forth affair. This time the roles were reversed, as Young built a four-point lead and had four match points.
Lane fended off all of the Dolphins’ match points, tying the score at 24-24 on an error by Wesolowski. The senior made up for it on the next two plays, as he put down a kill and served an ace for the win.
With the victory, Young (17-12) advances to play Payton in the city finals at UIC Friday at 5:30. It will be a rematch of last year’s title match, which was won by Young. Payton won the teams’ only match this season, April 2, in three sets.
“It’s a huge rivalry,’’ Wesolowski said. “It’s always Young and Payton, Young and Payton. We know their strengths are Earl [Schultz] and Alex [Bresler]. We can’t shut them down completely, because they’re going to score. But we will have to contain them.’’
Zakir Pasha had six kills for Lane.
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Azia Javier kept Young rolling through the Public League playoffs on Saturday by netting a hat trick in the Dolphins 4-0 quarterfinal victory over Lincoln Park at Lane.
“We like to score early and often,” Javier said. “We don’t like being behind, so we try to build up a lead. We are an offensive-minded team and know that the teams we’re going to see, we’ve played, but that doesn’t stop us from doing what we do.”
After playing to a stalemate for most of the first half, Javier recorded in a goal in the 26th minute for Young (14-5-2).
Javier’s second goal came 11 minutes later as she accelerated down the right side of the field, knocking it in just over the Lincoln Park goalie’s outstretched arms.
Javier wasn’t done though. Seven minutes into the second half, she took a shot from the far right corner of the box that rocketed past the goalie’s arms into the upper left corner of the goal.
Young continued the pressure and picked up its final goal when freshman Madison Ekern knocked in a goal from in front of the goal to create the final margin.
Lincoln Park (3-6-5), which had somewhat of an offensive attack in the first half, was unable to create any kind of pressure for Young defense in the second half.
“Over the season we’ve done a great job getting everyone involved, that’s something we look to do in every game,” Javier said. “We know our opponent in the next round (Payton) is a tough team because they’re in the Premier division. Every team is going to bring it because it’s the playoffs. You just have to be ready.”
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Young did not possess the intensity it needed in the first set of its showdown with rival St. Ignatius on Friday. The Dolphins, however, were able to rally behind Tom Wesolowski’s match-high 20 kills and earn a 17-25, 25-15, 25-16 victory over the visiting Wolfpack. Continue reading
In a matchup of the Public League’s top two teams, Payton showed that sometimes practice isn’t perfect. The Grizzlies, who have yet to have a full practice with all of their players present, defeated host Young 21-25, 25-20, 25-12 Tuesday afternoon in both teams’ conference opener. Continue reading
Unlike most teams, No. 1 Young didn’t start its season two weeks ago. Instead the Dolphins kicked off their campaign Thursday showing virtually no signs of rust en route to an easy 63-17 win over visiting Crane. Continue reading
BY MICHAEL WOJTYCHIW May 25, 2012
St. Patrick got a wake-up call when it dropped the second set of its match against host Young Friday in a sectional semifinal. The Shamrocks then woke up and moved on to the sectional final with a 25-22, 14-25, 25-17 win. Continue reading
BY MICHAEL WOJTYCHIW May 19, 2012
When a team has won five straight Public League softball titles and 12 of the last 14, one bad inning isn’t going to discourage it. Lane shook off a bad inning Saturday and roared back to defeat Young 12-3 in the Public League final at UIC. Continue reading
BY MICHAEL WOJTYCHIW May 18, 2012
The city boys volleyball title has returned to Young. A year after Payton stopped the Dolphins’ run of back-to-back titles, the Dolphins got their revenge, defeating the Grizzlies 25-20, 25-17 Friday at UIC. Continue reading
BY MICHAEL WOJTYCHIW May 16, 2012
Young’s Okello Hope wanted to beat Lincoln Park bad. And he came out and showed it in the second Public League semifinal at Northside Wednesday afternoon. Hope had 12 kills to lead the Dolphins to a 25-14, 26-24 win over the Lions, avenging Young’s lone conference loss this season. Continue reading
