Hersey grades out well in MSL East showdown

The Hersey boys volleyball team passed its toughest test of the season Tuesday night with nothing short of an A-plus.

The visiting Huskies took sole possession of first place in the Mid-Suburban East with an impressive 25-13, 25-13 victory over Prospect at Jean Walker Field House.

"We came in with a great game plan tonight," said 6-foot-7 Hersey senior middle blocker Mike Fuerst, who was 5-for-5 on attack with 5 kills. "We had a great scouting report and came out and basically played error free."

The Huskies improved to 3-0 in the East (10-1 overall) while Prospect fell to 2-1 in conference play and 8-7 on the season.

"You have to give all the credit in the world tonight to Hersey," said Knights coach Mike Riedy. "They took us out of our system. Their passing, blocking and setting was exceptional, and they served aggressively.

"They played like they want to win the East, and we played like we had some other place to be."

Junior Eryk Krzyzak led Prospect with 7 kills while Bart Migus of Hersey hit 7 kills on 13-of-14 hitting and recorded 3 blocks.

"Our guys came to play tonight," said Huskies coach Nancy Lill. "They were focused and I was very pleased with their effort."

Hersey asserted itself from the get-go, running out to a double-digit lead when Migus put down a hard kill.

A Fotis Christacos bump, Peter Wesolowski set and a spike from senior setter Matt Torvik (6 kills) closed out Game 1.

"We've been working so hard this season," Torvik said. "And it's paying off.

"We knew we had to be aware of where (Prospect senior right-side Grant) Andler was - he's their big swinger and an outstanding player, and we were able to keep that under control."

Prospect fell behind again 13-7 in Game 2 but got a big momentum lift when senior Jacob Schwister scored a spectacular back-row, one handed bump kill that fired up the home crowd.

But the Knights couldn't take advantage and Hersey ran off the next 8 consecutive points - the first 3 on block kills by Migus (2) and Torvik.

A kill from Fuerst closed out the match.

"This was a nice win," Fuerst said. "It feels great to be able to separate ourselves from the rest of the division."

Torvik finished with 11 assists on 17-of-17 setting, while teammate Wesolowski was 24-of-24 with 13 assists.

The Huskies were outstanding on defense as well as Christacos had 18 digs and Kevin Messer finished with 12.

"We've got a great group of guys this season," Lill said. "We've got so many weapons, you can't focus on just one player. If you do, you're going to get beat."

Barrington d Conant: Colin Castagna (9 kills), Justin Hana (5), Mike Amato (4) and Nolan Woods (1) were top attackers for Barrington in a 25-22 MSL West triumph.

Indy Nenn and Tommy Soifer each had an ace for the Broncos while Soifer set the offense with 24 assists.

Nitin Singh had a block while Mike Amato collected 5 digs and Nenn 4.

Rolling Meadows d. Wheeling: The Mustangs picked up their first MSL East win by topping the visiting Wildcats 25-16, 28-26.

Leaders for Meadows (3-6, 1-2) included AJ Wojcik (9 kills), Tom Srnak (6 kills), Tommy Murphy (12 digs, 2 aces).

The top performers for Wheeling (3-9-1, 0-3) included Nick Stephani (18 digs), Jeremy Schultz and Alex Kais (5 kills apiece) and Sagar Kapadia (18 assists).

Hoffman Estates d. Fremd: Connor Rodheim provided a match-best 11 kills to go with 10-for-10 serving and a pair of blocks as the host Hawks earned an MSL West win by beating the Vikings 19-25, 25-17, 25-22.

Hardik Patel led Hoffman with 13 assists, senior Anthony Orozco had 17 digs and Gregg Lugo contributed 8 kills, 2 aces and 9 digs.

Sharief Scott led Fremd (2-7, 0-3) with 7 kills, Tim Vandon had 4 blocks, Ben Zimmerman had 20 assists and Patrick Kurka had 10 digs.

Schaumburg d. Palatine: The visiting Saxons stayed perfect in MSL West with a 25-13, 25-13 victory over the Pirates.

Romario Rios powered the atttack for Schaumburg (10-4, 3-0) with 7 kills on 15-for-16 hitting, and Cameron Nolan had 4 kills and served 3 aces. Jacob Dietrich contributed 6 digs, Nidhin Thomas provided 18 assists and Stephen Knitter was 9-for-9 serving.