Wheaton Christian edges Faith Christian in 3-set thriller

After losing the opening set 25-8, Faith Christian Academy's JV team showed great heart in the second set, rallying to win 25-19 and turning an 8-1 deficit into a 13-13 tie in the third set before Wheaton Christian's 7th-grade boys volleyball squad held on for a 25-8, 19-25, 15-13 victory on Wednesday in Wheaton. Way to come back, Falcons!

The Warriors avenged a 3-set loss to FCA last month in Geneva, but not without a fight from the Falcons. Trailing 11-7, Faith rallied behind stellar serving from Ethan "Easy" Hansen (6 for 6, ace, service winner) and Osten "Robin" Lockner (8 for 8, 4 service winners) to win the second set and force a third set.

Wheaton quickly built an 8-1 lead in the final set, but Faith again dug deep and showed strong resolve to come back and tie the score at 13-13 on a service winner by Bryce "Cannon" Riner, aces by Osten and "King" Cole Schulze and a service winner by Ben "Batman" Riner. The Warriors recovered to win the last two points of the set and clinch the match, but FCA gave the hosts all they could handle. Great job, Falcons!

Bryce earned the hustle award for providing a spark of energy off the bench in the second set with two kills, two passes to setter and 3 for 3 serving. Mackenzie VanDerSnick won the best attitude award for delivering four passes to setter and several key passes that kept points alive.

In the opener on Wednesday, Wheaton's 8th-grade squad defeated Faith's varsity team 25-12, 25-16. Jessica Smith earned the hustle and best attitude awards, making a team-high six passes to setter, going 4 for 4 serving and keeping several points alive with her hustle and skill.

The Falcons practice till 4:45 p.m. on Friday to prepare for their final matches of the season on Monday at Leman Middle School in West Chicago. The varsity plays West Chicago's 8th-grade boys squad at 4:15, and the JV faces the Wildcats' 7th-grade team at 5:00. The first season of co-ed volleyball ends with a rousing match pitting the parents and alumni against the players at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 20!