Addison Trail rises to the challenge
After being a varsity libero the past two boys volleyball seasons, Addison Trail senior Zack Vaca was approached by coach Chad Grant about a new position.
"I knew that we were losing an outside (hitter to graduation)," Vaca said. "I kind of assumed, and I got ready over the summer."
On Friday, before heading to the school prom, Vaca had the offensive match of his life as the Blazers' balance earned a 25-22, 25-12 victory over Hinsdale Central in the state quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates.
The Blazers (34-6) meet Glenbard West (38-2) in Saturday's 11 a.m. semifinal. Addison Trail lost to the Hilltoppers 19-25, 25-21, 25-11 April 23 - one of only two Glenbard West victories this season to require three games.
"I was more focused on the game and now prom is on my mind," Vaca said. "I'm sure it was a little factor, just for the rush (to leave) but having two games helped."
While Addison Trail senior and all-time kill leader Alex Dickmann had 13 more, seven other Blazers combined for 20.
Vaca and seniors Joey Nasti, Jonny Valentini and Jack Vrchota and junior Kannon Nelms also helped Addison Trail also establish a new single-season school record for victories.
Seniors Kian Peterson and Matt Rafferty and junior Will Thompson led Hinsdale Central (25-13).
Both teams were in the state quarterfinals for the first time.
"It's something we've dreamed of accomplishing since we came to high school," Valentini said. "It's making school history just over and over again. We just beat the wins record. We just made it to the semifinals, the farthest our school has ever made it. It's just a great feeling."
After the first game Grant was elated to see a stat sheet with Vaca hitting .800. Vaca finished at .700 with 10 attacks and no errors.
"Honestly, we never go into a match thinking our outsides (Vaca and Valentini) are going to get a ton of sets," Grant said. "They're basically two liberos playing front row, but we need them. It's not that they can't hit, but tonight they got it done and they took advantage of the opportunities."
Both teams showed first-time state jitters. Hinsdale Central led 7-3 mostly on Addison Trail attack errors.
A 3-point serving run by Vaca gave the Blazers their first lead at 13-11, and neither team led by more than two points until the Blazers at 21-18. Sophomore libero Arlind Rojba served an ace and his dramatic dig of Thompson's blast landed on the other side of the net.
Still leading 23-22, Dickmann got a kill for sideout. Vrchota won a ball at the net for game point.
"Alex is always going to get his kills. It's when other people get kills that when we're really on fire," Nelms said. "Our outsides played the best games of their lives, both of them. And we middles got some hits going."
Addison Trail never trailed in the second game but didn't have breathing room until Vaca's four service points for a 16-10 advantage. Valentini's 4-point serving streak opened a 23-14 lead. Sophomore Cotton Noel's only kill came on match point.
After senior Jake Zeeb's three service points gave the Red Devils their last lead at 16-15 in the first game, they never again scored consecutive points while serving.
"We just didn't seem like we could find a rhythm. Their defenders seemed to be everywhere we were hitting the ball," Hinsdale Central coach Mike Konrad said. "It just felt like a couple of those small plays, those little things that could have gone either way seemed to go their way today."
Konrad hadn't been at Hoffman Estates since playing for Lyons Township's fourth-place state team in 2005.
Grant played volleyball for the Blazers and wasn't even part of a regional champion.
"It makes it that much sweeter. We had tons of alumni (here), guys that I played with, coached. It's just awesome," Grant said.
"Once we tied it up in the first game, we kind of took over from there. In the second game, we just played outstanding all around."
Rafferty, the multi-sport standout headed to Furman for basketball, made his volleyball debut for the Red Devils on May 15. The day before, Zeeb called Rafferty to see if he was interested in helping overcome a key season-ending injury.
The Red Devils recently found a photo with nine of them together on their seventh-grade middle school team. Only a few of them play club volleyball.
"This is the tightest team," Zeeb said. "I never thought we'd get here, to be honest. I was as shocked as anyone. It was just a group of guys that has been playing volleyball together for so long."