LW-Central Athletes Sign to Play in College

Basketball player Brad Foster and volleyball leader Danielle Dowd were honored after school Nov. 9.

Two Lincoln-Way Central student athletes put pen to paper Wednesday to signify they'll take their game to the next level. One's season just ended, the other's is just beginning. But they've both made a big impact on Knight athletics the last four years. Brad Foster, a basketball player from New Lenox, signed with Lewis University. Danielle Dowd, a volleyball player from Manhattan, will continue her sport at Ferris State University in Michigan. Foster is a 6-foot, 8-inch center with a 3.947 GPA, and he plans to major in pre-physical therapy. Although he's accomplished the goal of landing a scholarship to play in college, Foster is excited to refine some of his skills this season, primarily ball handling and rebounding. "I also want to try …

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UPDATE: See Who Won Patch's Athlete of the Week, Oct. 24-31

Lincoln-Way East's Jimmy Ralph went from shootout winner in soccer to blowout winner in the voting.

After three days of voting, the choice for this week's top athlete wasn't even close. Jimmy Ralph, a junior soccer defender at Lincoln-Way East, won with 80 percent of the vote. Ralph is now eligible for the October athlete of the month consideration. The nominees for Southland Patch Athlete of the Week, Oct. 24-31, were: Danielle Dowd, senior, volleyball outside hitter, Lincoln-Way Central. Dowd had 10 kills and four aces in Central’s 19-25, 25-19, 25-19 victory over Providence in the Class 4A regional final at Providence. Included were three aces with the match on the line in Game 3. Dakota Hampton, junior, volleyball outside hitter, Sandburg. Hampton had 10 kills, three blocks and three aces in Sandburg’s 25-18, 25-18 victory over …

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Girls Volleyball Sectionals: Sandburg Ends Lincoln-Way Central's Run

Eagles start slow but then turn it on for a 25-20, 25-16 victory over the Knights in the Class 4A Andrew Sectional semifinals.

Just 10 days ago, the Lincoln-Way Central Knights shocked the Sandburg Eagles to win the SWSC Blue girls volleyball title. On Tuesday night, Sandburg turned the tables and took down the Knights in straight sets, 25-20, 25-16, to advance to Thursday night’s Class 4A Andrew Sectional title match against Marist. The Eagles (32-6) started slowly in game one and had to come back from a 7-3 deficit. The score was 14-all before Sandburg finished by outscoring the Knights 11-6 to close out the first set. Game two was dominated by the Eagles, who led by nine points twice in the final set. The Knights (26-5) staged a late rally that fell short. Sandburg was led by Dakota Hampton (8 kills, 11 digs, 1 ace), Kara Kentner (18 assists), Kristy Theisen (8…

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Girls Volleyball: L-W Central's Dowd Aces Providence with Match on Line

Lincoln-Way Central 19-25-25, Providence 25-19-19: Danielle Dowd served up three straight aces in Game 3 to seal the Knights' victory over the Celtics Thursday night in the Class 4A Providence Regional.

With full student sections representing both sides and emotions running high, the Lincoln-Way Central girls volleyball team felt like they had something to prove in the Class 4A regional final at Providence Thursday night. Lincoln-Way Central (26-11) defeated Shepard earlier in the week to set up a showdown with cross-town rival Providence Catholic (28-9). And the Knights took a thriller 19-25, 25-19, 25-19 thanks in large part to the work of senior outside hitter Danielle Dowd. Dowd finished with 10 kills and four service aces, three of those coming with the match on the line in Game 3. But who knew there would be a Game 3. Early on, it looked as though Providence would have an easy time of it against Lincoln-Way Central. The Celtics were…

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Girls Volleyball: L-Way Central Sweeps Past L-Way West

The Knights rebounded from a tough weekend behind the play of Amanda Dolan and Danielle Dowd to defeat Lincoln-Way West in the Warriors' own gym on Tuesday night.

The Lincoln-Way Central girls volleyball team responded from a disappointing appearance in the Rich East tournament over the weekend. The Knights defeated Lincoln-Way West 25-10, 25-12 on Tuesday night in a Southwest Suburban crossover at West. Lincoln-Way Central (12-6) turned an early 3-3 game into an 8-4 lead and never looked back in the first game. The Knights outscored the Warriors 22-7 to close out the game. "We came back from a tough weekend and came together and killed it," Knights middle blocker Amanda Dolan said. "Before the game, we had a little talk and it pumped us all up." After getting swept by Lincoln-Way East and Wheaton St. Francis over the weekend at Rich East, the Knights worked hard in practice on Monday in preparation…

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Local Sports Notebook

Bartuch Boosts L-W Central Boys Soccer

Lincoln-Way Central edges Eisenhower 2-1 to win the Lincoln-Way Invite, raise its boys soccer record to 8-1-1; Providence girls volleyball takes title at Oak Lawn Classic.

Conor Bartuch scored the go-ahead goal with a little over 3 minutes remaining to lift Lincoln-Way Central to a 2-1 victory over Eisenhower in the Lincoln-Way Invite. The victory gave the Knights this year's boys soccer tournament title and pushed their record to 8-1-1. The Providence girls volleyball team didn't look too far ahead to Wednesday's matchup against perennial power Mother McAuley as the Celtics were in strong form last weekend at the Oak Lawn Volleyball Classic. The Celtics picked up five victories over the weekend to win the tournament and improve to 13-2 on the season. Krista Brakauskas was named tournament MVP. The Lincoln-Way West girls volleyball team battled with Providence during the Oak Lawn Volleyball Classic, before …

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