Rams turn up the heat

How warm was the temperature in the Grayslake Central gymnasium Monday?

With no air conditioning to turn on, Rams coach Jason Janczak compared the heat to a typical day at summer camp. Senior outside hitter Shannon Curtis said the players on both teams had to "grin and bear it."

Grayslake Central responded to the challenge and was all smiles following a 25-15, 25-19 victory.

Curtis began the match with 4 consecutive service points, 2 of which were aces. Zion-Benton was forced to use an early timeout, and the Rams never looked back the rest of the game. Grayslake Central ran its record to 10-6.

"It's always nice to start like that," said senior middle blocker Anna Dlesk. "It gave us adrenaline and we were able to keep it going."

Senior libero Brittany Gibson had 3 of the Rams' 10 aces. Curtis, senior middle blocker Tory Dohm and senior outside hitter Amber Benko each contributed 2 aces.

By contrast, Zion-Benton (2-8) struggled with its serving, especially in the second game. The Rams started letting the Zee-Bees' hard, floating serves sail long. Five of the Rams' first 7 points came on serving miscues.

"We took advantage of their service errors," Janczak said.

Janczak liked how aggressive his team was at the service line.

"We've always stressed serving; we're a short team so we have to get an advantage somewhere," he said.

Zion-Benton was encouraged with the way it pushed the Rams in the second game. The Zee-Bees have three sophomores and a freshman in their regular rotation. At times, they were able to run the middles and hit over the Grayslake Central block.

"We'll take some hits, but I think we have a bright future," said Zion-Benton coach Becky Muff. "When we pass and set, we can put the ball down."

Desk and senior middle blocker Tory Dohm paced the Rams' attack with 4 kills apiece. Curtis and Dohm each had 2 blocks. Curtis added 4 digs.

After winning a tournament at Lakes, the Rams had dropped two consecutive matches before bouncing back against Zion-Benton.

"It's been a roller coaster lately, and this gives us a lot of momentum," Curtis said.

Added Janczak: "We would have liked to be more aggressive at the net, but this was an important win for us. We really played together as a team."