Girls Volleyball
Freshman libero helps Lincoln-Way Central edge Lincoln-Way West for conference championship
There was a touch of irony to Brooklyn Condon being one of the ultimate heroes Thursday for Lincoln-Way Central.
The freshman libero didn’t lose her cool despite some loud ribbing by the Lincoln-Way West cheering section.
In the end, she who was taunted had the last laugh in Central’s 25-19, 19-25, 25-22 SouthWest Suburban Red victory.
Dani Lauer had 10 kills and seven digs for the Knights (22-12, 6-0). Layne Stevens had seven kills, Nicole Ramirez had 35 assists and Condon delivered 10 digs.
Brianna Knezz led for Lincoln-Way West (22-14, 5-1) with 17 kills and 15 digs. Sophia Wilkes added nine kills, while Sage Dunne had eight kills and 15 digs and Hannah Rubin contributed 35 assists.
The win clinched the conference title for Central.
As for the taunt ...
Late in Game 3, Condon had a serve by West’s Caroline Ahern shank off of her arm for a kill. The point put the Warriors up 21-19.
A few seconds later, the chant came from West’s student section.
“She’s a freshman. ... She’s a freshman.”
Condon heard them. But she didn’t flinch.
“It didn’t really get to me,” Condon said, smiling. “I wasn’t going to let them mess with my head or anything. They could do it, but I really didn’t care. I just got ready to get the next one.”
Her next pass was perfect, with Central earning the point. Condon then went to the line and served for an ace to tie it up at 21-21. She also served for the next three points.
West salvaged one point, but Lauer ended the match for Central with a kill.
Condon keeping her cool didn’t surprise Knights coach Mary Brown.
“She’s good,” Brown said. “She has been so impressive. She doesn’t play like a freshman.
“I apologize to her because I yell at her and get really intense with her. I say, ‘I forget that you are a freshman. I have to ease up a little bit.’”
There was a touch of irony in Lauer’s match-ending kill.
Lauer, a senior outside hitter, missed her entire junior season because of a torn ACL.
“This means a lot to me,” Lauer said. “Last year I couldn’t play and they won the conference title. This season it also means a lot to us.
“We were down (in Game 3), but we just pushed. We worked together as a team and we killed it.”
The battle between conference unbeatens was a wild one. Central broke away from a 15-15 tie in Game 1, while West did the same with Game 2 tied at 16-16.
West played without junior outside hitter Kirsten Leitshuh, who had right knee surgery on Monday. Dunne was moved from right-side hitter to replace Leitshuh and swung extremely well.
“We’ve been trying very hard to overcome (adversity),” West coach Matt Lawrence said. “The girls are doing the very best they can do. That’s all I can ask.
“Lincoln-Way Central is a great team. We fought them hard. It was a great effort.”
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