Boys volleyball: WW South's win makes Schreier No. 1
There's a new sheriff in town.
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier became the winningest coach in Illinois high school boys volleyball history Thursday when the Tigers defeated Minooka 25-23, 23-25, 25-21 in the first round of the Tiger Classic in Wheaton.
The win was No. 560 for Schreier, who passed former Brother Rice coach Paul Ickes for the top spot in the IHSA record books.
"When you start you'd never think at some point that it could be you on top that list," said Schreier, whose seven state titles is also a state record. "It's something that's out there, but I just wanted a competitive program for the kids, a program that the kids wanted to play for and wanted to compete for. I've been pretty blessed with that.
"I joked about it before that it's kind of a lifetime achievement award because you're around for a long time and the wins start to stack up," he added. "In that way it's a tribute to the guys who come through the program and the guys who are going to continue to come through. They know it's part of our tradition. That's something we always talk about here."
One of WW South's traditions is strong and tall outside hitters. Six-foot-5 Lewis-bound senior Zach Meyer fits that mold.
"I knew the record was there, but I wasn't thinking about it until after we won," Meyer said. "It's pretty cool. I have been with Coach Schreier for four years, so I feel like I'm some kind of part of that and I've enjoyed it a lot. He's easily one of the best coaches I've ever had. I owe a lot to him."
Meyer paid off part of that debt Thursday. His 20 kills, a block and an ace accounted for most of the Tigers' offense against a Minooka team making its 2016 debut.
"Zach's a good player, he really is," Schreier said. "The maturation process has finally taken over. What we're seeing now is a completely different Zach. That's the most refreshing part."
Six-foot-6 senior Plamen Pavlov added 7 kills, a block and 3 aces for WW South (6-2), which also got 32 assists and an ace from junior setter Alex Carr.
Minooka (0-1) was led by Loyola recruit Brandon Baranski's 14 kills and 2 aces. The Indians also received 10 kills and 3 blocks from 6-3 middle hitter Daniel Beaudin and 31 assists from Shane Chetney.
"We made a lot of service errors, a lot of errors overall," Minooka coach Janel Grzetich said. "I'd like to see us clean up our mistakes. The guys have so much potential. I see it. The other coaches see it. I'm hoping they see it. They're a really good group. They work well together."
Although Grzetich would have preferred to win the match, she didn't mind terribly being on the wrong side of history.
"I went to school here (at WW South)," she said, "so it's OK."