Hard-hitting Lakes bounces Antioch

Welcome to the Bounce Club, Richard Galat.

Galat joins brothers Mason and Dalton Solbrig in this distinguished club.

What is this club all about? It’s for any Lakes volleyball player who manages a kill from the storied 10-foot line. It’s a kill that goes straight down without a chance of being stopped by an opponent.

“This is a big thing on our team,” Galat said. “I had my first 10-foot-line kill. It’s my first time in the Bounce Club. We were hitting balls out of the gym tonight.”

It was rivalry night in the Lakes gym Wednesday night. And to be truthful, despite all the heavy hitting by Eagles, stubborn Antioch did not let the Eagles make a mockery of this North Suburban Conference match. Lakes prevailed 25-22, 25-22.

“Antioch is good,” Galat said. “They are strong. They always play us tough.”

Galat is a hitter by nature, but he does bring in some setting experience. So to help with his team’s blocking, he did a little bit of both in this win.

“We had a new rotation tonight,” he said. “I set at the freshman level.”

Antioch (3-9) never led in either set, but the Sequoits certainly competed.

“Antioch is scrappy,” Lakes coach Wayne Schultz said. “Our blocking wasn’t the best tonight and we missed six serves. But we are knocking on the door.”

Schultz welcomed the newest player in the Bounce Club.

“Richard is my entertainer,” Schultz said. “He’s an impact player, too.”

Lakes (9-6) used three straight kills from Mason Solbrig (13 kills) to surge to a 12-8 lead in Set 1. However, on a kill from Antioch senior Ryan Weber, the Lakes lead was down to 21-20.

“We work hard,” Weber said. “We just need to talk more.”

Mason Solbrig’s kill closed out the opening set.

Set 2 was close as well until Tim Gorski went to serve. He used 2 kills from Tom Richter to expand the Eagles’ lead to 16-10. The advantage increased to 18-11, and again the Sequoits came back.

With Christian Peterson serving for Antioch, the Sequoits began to cut into the Lakes lead. Again, Mason Solbrig settled things with a kill ending the match.

“We are competitive,” Antioch coach Jamie Atkinson said. “And pretty scrappy. But it’s a roller coaster for us. We are just not consistent.”

Antioch has nine seniors, but running the controls from the setting position is a ninth-grader. And Nathan Borries looks like a player to watch.

“When he gets a little stronger, he’s going to be really good,” Atkinson said.

Galat complemented Mason Solbrig with 6 kills. Alex Verhagen added 3 kills. Galat also registered 8 assists from his spot at setter. Matt Parenti had 11 assists for the Eagles. Verhagen notched 10 digs, while Galat added 7 digs.

Weber led the Antioch attack with 4 kills and 3 blocks. Hard-hitting Gio Winters added 5 kills.