Pisarski, St. Francis too much for Wheaton North
It was Timmy Pisarski's night Monday in the opening round of the boys volleyball playoffs.
Pisarski, a former setter turned outside hitter late in the season, spearheaded big sequences in both games to lead 12th-seeded St. Francis to a 25-13, 25-23 win over Wheaton North, the 21st seed, in the first round of the Naperville Central regional.
"Timmy had great assist numbers this year as a setter in our 6-2 offense," said St. Francis coach Mike Lynch. "But he's an all-around player and he's been terrific as a hitter in our 5-1 offense. Tonight he just took over the game in the front row and at the service line. We can go to a lot of players, but he's our go-to guy in clutch situations. And he's strong passing, serving and on defense."
"I play outside in club ball," Pisarski said, "and Jack (McGuire) has been doing such a great job setting. Tonight he consistently got the balls where they had to be."
Pisarski led the Spartans (18-17) with 11 kills, 14 service points, 6 digs and 3 aces and had a hand in finishing off both games. McGuire had 20 assists, and Conor Reinke added 8 kills.
In Game 1, after five ties and three lead changes, the Spartans led 9-8 and that's where Pisarski took center stage.
With Steve Burns at the service line, the Spartans reeled off six points, with Pisarski putting down 5 straight kills to create a commanding 15-8 lead.
A little later Pisarski served a pair of aces to spark an 8-point run to virtually put the game away. A kill by Nick Roehl closed it out at 25-13.
Wheaton North (7-29) proved to be a much tougher foe in Game 2 keeping it close throughout and leading for much of the time.
With the Falcons up 21-20 Pisarski came through with 2 kills and his third service ace of the night to put the Spartans ahead 23-22.
A Wheaton North kill by Max Peckenpaugh tied it at 23-23, and then kills by Reinke and McGuire finished the match and sent the Spartans into Tuesday's regional semifinals against Naperville North.
Ben Hamsho led the Falcons with 8 kills, and Ethan Peterson added 6. Trevor Heganes had 20 assists.
"A couple of times in each set we were stuck in a receive rotation and we weren't able to put the ball on the net for our setter," said Wheaton North coach John Noe. "They were able to take advantage of the momentum swing. We also missed 8 serves over the two sets."
In the opening first-round match, Willowbrook was led by Ryan Wakely's 12 kills an defeated Oswego East 25-27, 25-13, 25-19.
Willowbrook will play host Naperville Central in Tuesday's regional semifinal match.