Upset special? Not this time, says WW South
Naperville Central was hoping for the type of upset that makes sports so special, but the heavily favored Wheaton Warrenville South boys volleyball team was having no part of any Cinderella stories developing at its expense.
The top-seeded, unbeaten and nationally ranked Tigers (36-0) put on a show in Tuesday’s regional semifinal at St. Francis, ending the Redhawks’ season with an impressive 25-7, 25-10 defeat. It was Wheaton Warrenville South’s third sweep of Naperville Central (15-22) this season and the win advanced the team to Wednesday’s regional final against either Neuqua Valley or the host Spartans.
“A matchup like this is the reason you play sports and the reason you watch the NCAA Tournament,” Naperville Central coach Jeff Danbom said. “Because there’s always the chance that if you’re at your very best and they don’t play their best game…that’s why a Lehigh beats a Duke.”
But on Tuesday the Tigers were at their best and looked every bit as good as their perfect record and lofty rankings would indicate. The 6-foot-6 duo of Thomas Jaeschke and Tim Zyburt each had 6 kills, Jaeschke and Matt Callaway each fired off several nasty serves and came away with 2 aces apiece, and the Tigers’ defense was equally as impressive.
“The key to our game is defense,” Jaeschke said. “We know we can be big at the net, but if we play solid defense we know we’re playing our best.”
Wheaton Warrenville South won a sixth state title in 2009 before falling to Naperville North last year in the sectionals. A determined team effort on Tuesday indicates the Tigers plan to return to state and also left the Redhawks little chance of even thinking about the upset.
The DVC champs jumped head 9-1 behind some strong early serving from Callaway, then the Game 1 lead grew to 23-6 following an 8-0 run that featured some tough serving by Dan Eastman and a pair of kills from Nick Smith.
The nightcap started even better for the Tigers, who built a 14-1 lead before easily completing the sweep.
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Scheier warned his team about the importance of a strong start, especially since Naperville Central had a postseason win Monday under its belt.
“Warming up at our place they had a little bit of nervous energy and they were excited to play,” Scheier said, noting that his team warmed up on campus before heading to St. Francis. “But while most people talk about our offensive capabilities, tonight it was our defense that was big. We had the blocking at the net, but even more important was the play behind the net.”
Eastman sparked the defense with 5 digs, but it was a total team effort that led the way to the easy triumph.