Glenbard North defeats Naperville Central

You don’t win high school boys volleyball matches with style points or being judged on how dominant you are. All that matters is that you have more points than your opponent in two games.

Glenbard North left Naperville Central on Tuesday night not triumphant in playing a textbook match. But the Panthers did enough to prevail in three games, 25-23, 21-25 and 25-22.

Panthers coach Dedra DeBenedetti thought her team would have a little more momentum after having a strong showing at Saturday’s Addison Trail Invite. Glenbard North finished 4-1, beating St. Charles North, Proviso West, Wheaton Academy and St. Edward before losing to the hosts, 27-25, 23-25 and 13-15 in the final.

“We were flat tonight and that was frustrating. I like the outcome, even if it wasn’t our best,” said DeBenedetti, whose team improved to 13-11 overall and 4-3 in the DuPage Valley Conference.

If the third and deciding game was split into thirds, the first part went to the Panthers, the second third went to the Redhawks (6-12, 1-6) or was deadlocked, and the final third went to Glenbard North. But for the entire night, neither team could establish dominance.

Two kills by the Panthers’ Brad Darzins put his team up 22-19. These points were crucial as Naperville Central didn’t get any closer than two points the rest of the day. Mark Szwan’s block sealed the deal for the Panthers.

“It’s a always a fight against Naperville Central,” DeBenedetti said.

Naperville Central coach Jeff Danbom said his team’s serving hurt its cause, especially in the final game.

“We need to do a better job of concentrating on our service. The three games were tight and neither team could sustain a run. Our serving was either out of bounds or too aggressive. It never allowed us to form a rhythm,” he said.

A block by Connor Cunningham put the Redhawks up 21-12 in Game 2, but the team had to fight off a 9-4 run by the Panthers to conclude the contest.

In the opening game the Redhawks had a 22-20 lead until a kill by Darzins, an ace by teammate Chris Basius and two Redhawks hitting errors gave Glenbard North the victory.

The Panthers were led by Andrew Charttrand’s 14 kills and Matthew Pemberton’s 10. Sarvesh Somisetty’s 11 kills, Zach Madsen’s 10 and Jon Chiczewski’s 9 paced Naperville Central.

Naperville Central gets right back into play tonight at West Aurora. Glenbard North resumes action Friday at Naperville North.