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Naperville North gets third win over Lake Park

In Thursday's DuPage Valley Conference boys volleyball match between Lake Park and host Naperville North, both teams were determined to keep the ball from hitting the floor.

But the sparkling defensive battle that featured numerous long rallies and numerous acrobatic digs was ultimately won by the Huskies 25-18, 26-24.

"It was a scrappy match going back and forth, especially in the second game," said Naperville North coach Nate Bornancin. "I was impressed by our back-row defense. We were digging a lot."

It was the third time this year the Huskies (19-12, 4-2) defeated the Lancers (14-11, 3-3).

"We talked about how hard it would be to beat a good team like Lake Park three times in one season," said Naperville North setter Jack Rothmund. "But we were able to take the mental step that was needed and we hunkered down and fought for the victory."

"Our setters did a really nice job of spreading the ball around," Bornancin said. "And we got big contributions from everyone, not only on defense, but our passing and hitting were both good."

Kent Lang led the balanced Huskies attack with 7 kills, followed by Spencer Munroe with 6. Michael Jennings and Philippe Russian had 5 kills and he also had 3 blocks.

A bunch of Huskies got into the defensive action as well, with Jennings and Dan Hill coming up with 10 digs and Phil Olszewski and Rothmund saving 9 balls each.

The Huskies kept some daylight between themselves and the Lancers in Game 1, leading by anywhere from 2 to 5 points most of the way.

They increased the margin to 7 at the end with a 4-point run that featured a pair of big kills by Munroe to close the set.

Game 2 was a see-saw battle early but the Huskies stayed slightly ahead through the teens.

The Lancers caught them at 22 and took the lead at 24-23.

But the Huskies got some big digs down the stretch from reserve hitter Taylor Ayars and a trio of timely kills by Jennings, Munroe and Russian for the victory.

"We can go to anyone we need and trust him to pit it down," Lang said.

Lake Park coach Tim Murphy was impressed with Naperville North and proud of the way the Lancers battled against the bigger team.

"Naperville North is a very good team," Murphy said. "They play great defense, do all the small things well and they play together. This was a great match. We play better when the energy is high. We were relentless in keeping the ball from hitting the ground. "

Kyle Murphy led the Lancers with 12 kills and 5 digs. Blake Heitmann was the dig-leader with 17, followed by Jack Fischer with 11 and Alec Bouchard with 10. Austin Patchin set for 19 assists.

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