Gritzman rallies Lockport past JT

Lockport's Connor Callozzo (left) tips past the JT block of Kim Vertin and Marissa Graves on Tuesday night. photos by john Patsch/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

So the Porter seniors, playing in their sixth and final regularly scheduled home match, went out in style by rallying for a 22-25, 25-22, 25-16 victory over Joliet Township in a Southwest Suburban blue match Tuesday evening at Lockport Central.

"We definitely wanted to win on Senior Night," Lockport senior outside hitter Allie Gritzman said. "A lot of us have been playing together since we were little, so we just had to push through. It was happy and sad at the same time."

"It was an emotional night," Lockport coach Julia Hudson said. "To have eight seniors on the team is a lot. All of them have contributed in one way or the other."

One of the seniors is Dana Raber, who had been asked to do just about everything for the Porters (21-11, 4-1) this season. But Raber was not in the lineup on Tuesday because of a high right ankle sprain she suffered on Oct. 9. She hopes to return for the postseason opener vs. Plainfield North next Thursday at the Class 4A Oswego East Regional.

But the other seniors have picked up the slack, especially in Game 3 against JT. A tip kill by outside hitter Connor Callozzo (10 kills, 16 digs, 14 good serve receives, 9 points) and a kill by middle hitter Danielle Sladek (7 kills) capped a 5-0 run and helped Lockport build a 7-2 lead.

JT (19-13, 3-2) got within 12-11, but could never tie it. Leading 14-12, the Porters went on a 6-1 burst to go up 20-13. Gritzman, who had a match-high 15 kills to go along with 11 service points, 10 good serve receives and 8 digs, started the spurt with a kill.

A great rally that included digs by senior outside hitter Mallory Frankovich (21 digs, 18 service points, 9 good serve receives) and sophomore setter Christina Wilson (34 assists, 18 digs, 12 service points) led to a JT error and a 22-14 lead.

Ahead 22-16, Lockport put it away on a block by senior middle hitter Jessica Kroll (3 kills), a kill by Gritzman and a serve-receive into the net by the Steelmen.

"We just know we have to step it up with Dana out and I was able to get a lot of kills," Gritzman said. "We played tough at the net and we knew Joliet was a good team."

"Offensively, she's the woman at this point," Hudson said of Gritzman. "But our defense has stepped up, too."

Lockport senior libero Lexi Finger contributed 15 digs, 13 good serve receives and 8 service points, senior defensive specialist Danielle Donahue added 6 service points and junior outside hitter Alexis Davito had 8 kills, 11 points, 10 serve-receives and 8 digs.

"Last year they got us both times in three games," JT coach Al Mart said. "They're a disciplined team. For much of the match we played them punch-for-punch and point-for-point, but they got the ball up at the end and we didn't do a good job keeping their runs down in Game 3."

Game 1 was all Steelmen as they jumped out to a 7-2 lead and never trailed. Ahead 14-13, JT had a four-point run behind kills from junior setter/right-side hitter Marissa Graves (27 assists, 15 digs) and freshman middle hitter T-ara Austin (7 kills, 3 blocks).

The Porters closed the gap to 24-22 on a Gritzman kill, but committed a net violation to hand game one to JT.

Lockport jumped out to a 6-1 lead in Game 2 only to see the Steelmen come back to take a 13-10 advantage. Trailing 14-12, Gritzman had two kills and a block in a five-point run that gave the Porters the lead for good.

JT senior middle hitter Kim Vertin had 10 kills and 7 blocks, senior outside hitter Breanne Shaw added 6 kills, 24 serve-receives and 19 digs, sophomore outside hitter Courtney Robinson had 6 kills, 27 serve-receives and 14 digs.

Junior middle hitter Morgan Graves had 8 blocks and 11 digs and senior defensive specialist Tierra Pittman added a pair of aces and 5 digs for the Steelmen. 

"I was still happy with how we played," Mart said. "We were 3-7 at one point this season and the kids have come a long way and worked hard to make themselves a very competitive team at times."