Even though both teams are expected to be in the upper echelon, the schedule makers didn’t do either Lincoln-Way East or Joliet West any favors when it came to the start of the volleyball season.

Joliet West began the season Monday with a two-set win over a talented Homewood-Flossmoor team. The Griffins, meanwhile, opened their season Tuesday at Joliet West.

The Tigers (2-0) built on Monday’s win by claiming a 25-20, 25-21 win over Lincoln-Way East (0-1).

“To have two real big matches at home to start the season is pretty cool,” West senior setter/right-side hitter Lina Govoni said. “Obviously there are some nerves playing against teams like H-F and Lincoln-Way East, but Monday’s match was amazing, and we knew we had to bring that energy again today.”

The Tigers did just that, as it was a match that saw West take control from the start until about midway through the second set.

The first set was tied at 7 before West started to take control. Junior Penny Wagner delivered a kill to make it 8-7, and the Tigers never trailed again in the set.

West was able to spread out its offense throughout the match, as sophomore Lexie Grevengoed led with six kills, while Govoni and Wagner each had five, and Mady Gant added four. Govoni added 10 assists and six digs, while Grevengoed had three aces, Gant had two blocks, Julia Adams had 11 assists, and Eden Eyassu had 10 digs. Sophomore Na’Riah Autman added three kills.

After Wagner’s kill put them ahead 8-7, the Tigers went on an 8-3 run that gave them a 17-9 lead. They built the edge to 23-14 late in the set before the Griffins put together a 6-2 spurt to end the set and carry some momentum into the second.

The second set was tight early as well. After a 9-9 tie, East got a kill each from Macie Campbell and Alaina Pollard as well as a block by Pollard to move out to a 13-10 lead. The Griffins’ edge reached 16-12 after Chloe Prainito sandwiched a pair of kills around a freeball kill by libero Casey Twietmeyer, forcing West coach Chris Lincoln to call a timeout.

The Tigers regrouped and went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 19-16, the last point an ace by Govoni. East rallied with four straight points to take a 20-19 lead before Wagner had back-to-back kills and Grevengoed and Gant combined on a block for a 22-20 Tigers lead. Prainito had a kill to pull the Griffins to within 22-21, but West scored the final three points on a kill by Gant, a combined block by Faith Jordan and Wagner and a block by Grevengoed.

“We were struggling a little bit with our first contact,” Lincoln said. “We talked about that in the timeout, and once we got that under control, we were able to get into our offense. We have so many weapons that it’s hard for a team to defend us.

“It was really nice to see Penny Wagner have a big match. She works so hard in practice. She goes until she is red in the face, and tonight was a bit of a coming out party for her.”

Govoni also had high praise for her teammates.

“We started to use our middles more in transition,” she said about the Tigers’ turnaround. “Mady and Faith are two of the quickest players on our team, so I was able to set them. And Penny Wagner was great tonight.

“On our team right now, none of the spots are guaranteed, so everyone is super competitive in practices and matches, because they want that spot to be theirs. Penny definitely showed out tonight.”

Prainito led Lincoln-Way East with six kills. Pollard and Klarke Mosby each had four.