Crystal clear
Galaviz gets ‘excited’ for 11 kills and 14 digs as Joliet Catholic slips past Providence in 3A sectional semifinal
Senior outside hitter Crystal Galaviz has been waiting a long time to play in a big postseason match for Joliet Catholic.
Galaviz, a Georgia State recruit, transferred from Romeoville before her junior season, and the state playoffs were canceled because of COVID-19.
“It feels like a dream that’s slowly coming true,” Galaviz said.
Now, Galaviz is getting her shot and making the most of it. She had 11 kills Monday night to lead the top-seeded Angels to a 26-24, 27-25 win over fourth-seeded Providence in a Class 3A Hinsdale South Sectional semifinal.
“Every practice, every playoff game so far, has meant a lore more than just a game,” Galaviz said. “Not just for me but for the rest of the team.
“At Romeoville, I feel like I never even got past round one, so I’ve never played in a match like this. I was excited.”
Galaviz added 14 digs and two aces for Joliet Catholic (25-13), which will meet second-seeded Marian Catholic — a 25-20, 13-25, 25-21 winner over Lemont — at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the sectional final.
Riley Hungate finished with seven kills and seven digs for the Angels, while Sam Horn contributed 11 assists and 10 digs.
Juliana Warfield led Providence (16-21) with 14 kills. Natalie Papes had four kills and Bree Duffy had 16 assists.
The Celtics led 6-0 and 17-11 in Game 2, but Joliet Catholic rallied and led 24-23 before back-to-back kills from Warfield gave Providence a set point.
Galaviz was up for the challenge, though, producing a kill to force a tie at 25-25 and — after a Providence error — the match-ending kill.
“Crystal has worked really
hard at being consistent and more of a six-rotation player,” Joliet Catholic coach Kisha Cameron said. “That’s one of the things we talked about at the beginning of the season — getting her to that point where she could be a problem in the front row and the back row.
“She was open to that challenge. She’s consistently one of our better passers. We’ve put more pressure on her in practice, so that when it’s on the line, she can be focused.”
Galaviz said the Angels are out to show they’re still a force to be reckoned with.
“With our new coaching staff, we want to prove to them and to ourselves we can do this,” she said. “Historically, we’ve been an all-around good team, but this year, we have to prove this is us and we can still do it.”
Joliet Catholic also had to fight off the Celtics in Game 1.
Providence led 20-18 before Hungate delivered a kill and then served three straight points, including an ace.
Horn had a block to break a 24-24 tie before an error ended it.
“I feel like we just really kind of found comfort in each other and relied on each other in a way where we knew we could dig deep and get it out of us when it mattered,” Hungate said. “We trusted each other. We just knew we could do it.”
Providence coach Lee Rucinski was proud of his team for battling.
“I think we came out and executed our game plan,” he said. “We had JCA on the edge, and now this becomes a learning experience.
“None of the girls on the court, outside of ‘Jules’ (Warfield), who was phenomenal, have been in that situation before. You saw that with some unforced errors, and you can’t give JCA anything or they’re going to come back and take it from you. That’s something for us to learn from.”
Marian Catholic 25-13-25, Lemont 20-25-21: Sara Johnson had 11 kills and Alexiana Jackson added six to lead Marian (20-15). Grace Ulatowski finished with five kills and April Rice had three aces for Lemont (19-17).