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Scott, Fremd claim big bounce-back win vs. Palatine

Fremd senior Sharief Scott gave the Vikings their confidence back Thursday night against visiting Palatine.

His teammates took it from there.

With Scott excelling from the service line, Fremd shook off a lopsided, error-filled first set loss to Vikings and came back for an electrifying 12-25, 25-19, 26-24 Mid-Suburban West victory over the Pirates.

Even long time Vikings coach Curt Pinley admitted he'd never seen anything like what occurred in the deciding game when Fremd rallied from way, way back to win in a match that had more momentum swings and ups and downs than a Six Flags rollercoaster.

"I'll say this," said Pinley. "Whenever Fremd and Palatine get together, the level of intensity rises. There was electricity in the gym and both teams did a great job of working within that structure.

"It could have gone either way, but luckily tonight it went our way."

Seemingly down and out after game one, Fremd fought back in game two when Scott served up the first 7 points, keeping the Pirates off balance and recording 2 aces.

A final set kill by Fremd senior Andrew Larson (match-high 15 kills) brought the Vikings even and set the stage for the thrilling third set.

"We played our game," said Scott, an outside hitter. "Our main goal was to focus and take care of business."

It looked like Palatine had the match back under control when it ran out to a commanding 13-4 lead in set three, but Fremd (3-7, 1-3) wasn't done.

Behind inspired play from middle hitter Aaron Kent (9 kills) and setter Eduardo Amador (8 assists, 4 digs), Fremd powered its way to a 24-21 lead. Then it was Palatine's turn to rally.

The Pirates (7-8, 1-3) fought off three match points to tie the game at 24, and appeared to take a 25-24 lead when a kill attempt by Fremd's Tim Vandon was called out.

But after a long discussion the officials ruled a replay on the point. Fremd took advantage by getting the side out and with the crowd on their feet, Vandon put the winning spike down after a perfect set from Amador - fittingly, after a hard jump serve by Scott that put the Pirates on their heels.

"We've got a lot of young guys," said Palatine coach Frank Stark, "and they've got to learn how much of volleyball is the mental game."

"They saw tonight that the team with more intensity and energy - the team that wants it more - usually wins."

Junior Ryan Campbell led Palatine on attack with 11 kills, while Scott led the way on defense as well for Fremd with 5 digs and 34-of-37 on serve receive.

"Our team is all about playing together and staying together," said Scott. "Even when we got down, we knew if we stayed together we had a chance."

Prospect d. Buffalo Grove: The Knights produced a big effort in a 25-12, 25-17 win over the Bison in MSL East action.

Jacob Schwister set the offense up with 18 assists, and Eryk Krzyzak had 8 kills and Grant Andler 7 for the Knights (9-7, 3-1). Schwister also had a team-best 8 digs, and Matt McPartlin led the way in blocks with 5.

Hersey d. Meadows: Mid-Suburban East leader Hersey improved to 4-0 in the division on Thursday by topping Rolling Meadows 25-16, 25-15.

Bart Migus led the attack for the Huskies (11-1 overall) with 9 kills and Mike Fuerst and Matt Torvik had 5 apiece. Kevin Messer had a team-high 11 digs and Fotis Christacos had 6, while Jordan Saeed had a team-best 6 blocks.

Pawl Wojcik had 4 kills for Meadows (3-7, 1-3), and Tom Srnak had 3 kills and a team-high 13 digs.

Schaumburg d. Conant: The Saxos stayed perfect in MSL West play by topping the Cougars 25-17, 25-13.

Stephen Knitter (11 kills), Cameron Nolan (7) and Bozhidar Kolev (6) led the attack for the Saxons (11-4, 4-0).

Conant's top contributors included Nicholas Pope (3 kills, 6 digs), Connor Lejman (3 kills, 5 assists) and Patryk Openchowski (3 kills, 5 digs).

Elk Grove d. Wheeling: Marco Castillo had a team-best 4 kills for Wheeling (3-10-1, 0-4), and Nick Stephani had 5 digs along with 8-for-8 serving and an ace.

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