Boys volleyball: St. Charles North advances to sectional final
Friday's semifinal of the Lake Park boys volleyball sectional was a classic case of when push comes to shove.
After St. Charles North pulled away from a back-and-forth first game, Rockford Jefferson gave the kind of gritty answer that had all the momentum going for the J-Hawks.
But being pushed into a third game meant the North Stars shoved back in the form off 9 straight points for an 11-3 lead that was too big a hill for Jefferson to overcome as St. Charles North claimed a 25-22, 23-25, 25-15 triumph.
The victory advances the North Stars (24-14) to Tuesday's 6 p.m. sectional championship against host Lake Park. North will hope for an encore to the rematch of the 2014 title meeting when they beat the Lancers 25-17, 25-18.
It was a frustrating finish for Jefferson (26-7-1) which was beaten in sectional play last year by Lake Park.
"Coming out in that third set to get that eight point lead shows the grit and character of our team," SCN's Jackson Koldziej insisted. "They took it to us at the end of that second set, but when you're down you have to put it all on the line and we did that."
Danny Throop agreed the North Star win was a result of a gut-check.
"We had to look at ourselves and remember all the tough teams we've beaten and know we have the tools, we simply have to use them," Throop said. "Our coaching staff always push us to make us better and they did that. That (scoring) stretch was all about communication and teamwork."
It was also a number of kills from Tommy Koppang and Kolodziej plus one from Danny Ccorcoran.
"We had to stay positive, stay calm and keep mixing up our attack," North Stars coach Todd Weimer explained. "We had to be creative and score in different ways. Sometimes we blocked therm, sometimes it was digging, sometimes it was guys off the bench. We didn't always execute our game plan to a 'T', but we got it done."
Jefferson, led by the all-around play of phenomenal freshman Parker Nelson, managed to narrow the gap to six (16-10), but a service error ended the string. That's when Max DeDobbelaere came off the bench to notch a pair of ace serves that prompted a J-Hawk timeout.
"Tommy may be a sophomore and got a little rattled early in the year, but he's been huge in the playoffs," Kolodziej said. "He's gotten us over the hump a few times."
Veteran Drew Lanz was willing to acknowledge a little luck as well.
"Once our nerves from that second game disappointment died down we got some huge plays, a little bit of luck, and feed off the momentum," Lanz added. "We definitely have a lot of talent and it's been clicking more and more for us."
Throop anticipates a tremendous battle Tuesday with a rollicking atmosphere featuring North's vocal supporters and a Lake Park home crowd that was unmistakable during the Lancers' 25-15, 25-20 win over Rockford Guilford in the opening semifinal.
"Lake Park is a really solid team and they've got some really good hitters," Throop said. "Jefferson gave us a run for our money and we'll need to do what we've done all year, which is realize that when effort and preparation meet, you'll be successful."