Shortly after Tessa Dowling helped Marist’s girls volleyball team win Saturday’s tough 32-team Crimson Classic, she was on the phone with her family.
They were in Ohio at Mount Carmel’s football game. Her twin brother, Emmett, threw for 382 yards and the 2-point conversion pass that clinched a 43-42 win over Moeller in a battle of national powers.
“I called my mom during the last point of the game to find out what happened,” Tessa said. “Everyone on the other end of the phone was cheering. Just hearing the reaction, it was so exciting.”
Tessa, a 5-foot-8 senior middle hitter, and reigning Class 4A state champion Marist also had an exciting Saturday.
The RedHawks won a pair of three-game matches against Normal U-High and St. Charles North before beating Lockport 29-27, 25-17 for the championship in the tournament hosted by Plainfield North at the Great Lakes Volleyball Center in Aurora.
Savanah Weathers was named tourney MVP, while Maryland recruit Elayna Davidson and Mississippi State commit Cassidy Cage made the all-tournament team for Marist (6-0).
Dowling, a Beverly resident, came through with two kills and three blocks against Lockport (5-1). She finished with 15 kills and 10 blocks in Saturday’s three matches.
While her heart and effort were Aurora, she also was pumped up for her brother, who was named the game’s MVP against the Cincinnati powerhouse.
“We’re super close,” Tessa said of Emmett. “He’s my best friend. I like spending time with him.”
Tessa, a Coastal Carolina recruit in lacrosse, is undersized for a middle. But that doesn’t bother Marist coach Jordan Vidovic.
“I’ll use the boys team as an example,” Vidovic said, referring the RedHawks winning the state title in June. “We had two middles who were undersized, which you never see, and it worked.
“She’s a scrapper at the net. She knows it’s her role and she knows that’s her edge. She will find different ways to outwork any players who outsize her.”
Lockport stuns Benet
People expecting a state championship rematch between Benet and Marist in the Crimson Classic finals had those plans stomped upon Saturday when Lockport ended up surprising the Redwings 29-27, 18-25, 15-10 in the semifinals.
The Porters graduated some talent from last year’s team that finished third in the state in 4A. And coach Nick Mraz also is down a setter for the Porters because of an injury, so he’s relying on a 5-1 offense rather than the 6-2 he was using in the preseason.
So, knocking off Benet seemed improbable, according to senior outside hitter Bridget Ferriter.
“It was questionable,” she confirmed. “But I knew that if we went in and played them like we didn’t know the other side — like they were just like any other team — then we could do it.
“We were a little nervous going into it.”
The Porters also had game point three times against Marist in the opener of the tourney final.
Hannah makes Marist return
Fresh off winning a national title at Penn State and a season of professional volleyball with the Vegas Thrill, former Marist star Camryn Hannah has returned this fall as an assistant coach for the RedHawks.
Vidovic pointed out that it’s good for Marist’s current players to learn from one of the best to come out of the school. And it’s good for Hannah to stay in the volleyball world until January, when she will return to the Major League Volleyball circuit with the Indy Ignite.
Vidovic related the RedHawks have been receptive to Hannah, and Dowling enthusiastically confirmed that statement.
“I love her so much — she’s awesome,” Dowling said of Hannah. “She has done so much for our team, and we have a great bond with her. She’s going to help us play so much better.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.