Boys volleyball: Buffalo Grove repeats as MSL champs

Between sets one and two of Wednesday's Mid-Suburban League boys volleyball title match at Barrington, Buffalo Grove coach Tim Kosiek could be seen encouraging his players.

Among them was junior hitter Chris Tsourmas.

"He was telling us to keep playing with confidence and keep working together," said Tsourmas. "When we work together, we play great."

Kosiek had to be impressed with what he saw from his team against the Broncos, especially in the deciding set.

BG dominated in game three to score a 29-27, 21-25, 25-9 championship victory.

"This is huge," said Tsourmas. "This was our goal at the beginning of the season."

It was the second straight MSL crown for the Bison, and the second consecutive year that they've defeated Barrington to win.

"Listen, any time you lose a game like this you look at what you could have done better," said Broncos coach Rob Ridenour, "but they (BG) served really well and we couldn't pass."

"We're a strong, physical team," added Barrington 6-foot-9 senior middle hitter TJ Murray. "We're big guys and we have the skill and ability to play well, but sometimes things get in our heads. This was a big learning experience for us."

With both the MSL East champs BG and West division titleists Barrington coming into the match with 10-0 conference records, an instant classic was expected, and the teams didn't disappoint through the first two games.

BG took a rollercoaster game one after East Division player of the year Zach Schnittker hit a perfectly place dink kill to break a 27-all tie, then teammate Danny Zickert served an ace.

But Barrington bounced back to take game two when middle Josh Babicz ripped 3 straight late kills.

"We had the momentum - we were very confident and had great energy as a team," said Murray. "But in the third set we started playing each point to get to the next point instead of going out there and having fun."

In the pivotal third set, BG raced out to a 11-6 lead behind a couple of winners from Ian VanWazer.

Then the Bison (25-10 overall) erased all doubt by going on an 8-point run behind Schnittker at the service line.

A final double block kill by Schnittker and senior Daniel Rogowski closed out the match.

"This is amazing," said Schnittker. "At the beginning of the season I wasn't sure if we'd be here (in the title match)."

Babicz led Barrington with 13 kills and 5 blocks, with West player of the year Ethan Carroll adding 5 kills while Murray finished with 7.

Schnittker, a senior, was 21-for-21 at service with 5 aces for BG, while classmate Blake Maley anchored a strong defensive effort with 10 digs.

Zickert finished 21-of-21 on serve receive and added 4 kills, while Tsourmas led the Bison with 15 kills.

"All year long these guys have just kept improving," said Kosiek of his team. "They didn't let up and they believed in each other. Volleyball is not just about height, it's also about heart."

"It was all about energy tonight," added Zickert. "We just wanted it so much. This was a great team effort."