Joliet West coach Chris Lincoln couldn’t help but laugh when asked to evaluate his team at the early point of the season. It wasn’t intended as dismissive; it just wasn’t accurate to say it’s the early portion of the season anymore.

Not for the Tigers, anyway.

“This is our 20th game of the season,” Lincoln said.

In one sense, it wasn’t apparent Monday as the energy was high. In another sense, the experience was evident as they swept Lincoln-Way West 25-17, 25-13.

After early battles in both sets, Joliet West (17-3) pulled away in each. Each set also saw late rally attempts by the Warriors, but each time the Tigers ended the comeback attempts.

“We did a great job of putting service pressure on them,” Lincoln said. “If we can run our offense and get a free ball, we’re hard to defend. Our offense is pretty well spread out.”

All three of the Tigers’ losses have been sweeps. They’ve dropped only three other sets all year in what’s been an outstanding season. Yet Lincoln said what he likes most about this team so far is their ability to win tight matchups.

“We’ve pulled out some gritty ones,” he said. “We’ve made some good teams look not so good because of our level of play. We’ve held some very good teams to very low hitting percentages, which is great to see.”

The first set was tight to start as the Tigers led just 7-6 at one point, but outside hitter Lexie Grevengoed rallied the squad with a pair of kills. The Tigers built the edge to 13-9 before going on a 7-1 run to take a decisive 20-10 lead.

Lincoln-Way West outscored Joliet West 7-5 the rest of the way, but Joliet West still secured the win.

The second set wasn’t as competitive. The Tigers were up 8-5 when they began a 13-2 run. Again, the Warriors outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, but it was far too late to earn the comeback.

Grevengoed led the way with nine kills and two digs. Lina Govoni (nine digs, five kills, four assists), Eden Eyassu (eight digs, five assists, one ace) and Julia Adams (12 assists) all had big nights, too.

“I think we had a really good student section out there,” Gevengoed said. “They were hyping us up, and everyone was cheering on our bench. We had great connections with the setters and the hitters, and that was really good.”

Even at 17-3 with a win over the always capable Lincoln-Way West, though, the team is always looking for ways to improve.

“We just need to be more confident in ourselves,” Lincoln said. “When teams go on runs, let’s end them quicker. Respect ourselves, but respect our opponents as well.”

As for the Warriors (8-8), they’re not too far behind the Tigers when it comes to games played. The key difference has been injuries across the roster for Lincoln-Way West. Coach Kendall Villa said that the team is getting healthier, but the key to getting back over .500 will be something simple.

“They have to want it,” Villa said. “They have to play like it means more to them. I think we were struggling offensively with Joliet West’s block. ... There’ve been injuries and stuff, but that’s not the excuse. You still have to execute. Kudos to West, but I think my girls didn’t execute what they were supposed to, so we just have to start fresh tomorrow.”

The Warriors were led by Ana Casner (five kills), Kara Stigter (four kills) and Lily Goyer (three kills). Lincoln-Way West plays again this weekend at the Oak Lawn Tournament, while Joliet West plays Lockport on Wednesday.