Boys volleyball: Fremd quickly fits together winning plan

Senior setter Kaleb Scharman is the only returning starter on the Fremd boys volleyball team.

Despite all that inexperience, the Vikings seem to be meshing together quite nicely.

Scharman had 9 assists on 21-of-23 setting Tuesday night as he and his new teammates opened the season with a 25-18, 25-22 Mid-Suburban crossover win over Wheeling in Palatine.

"We spent a lot of time during the off-season hanging out together and playing basketball," said Scharman of himself and his team. "It's a great way to promote team chemistry."

Vikings coach Curt Pinley said getting a win over a talented opponent like Wheeling to kick things off was a good sign.

"They're a very good squad," said Pinley of the Wildcats. "Their libero (Matt Schiferl) is phenomenal. But I'd rather start out by playing a quality team like Wheeling, it lets you know where you're at."

Superior setting led Fremd (1-0) to the first set win, as sophomore Martin Michalski had 2 aces and led his team on a couple of long runs.

"He (Michalski) did a great job on serve receive and passing too," said Scharman. "We're proud of him."

The Vikings took control in set 2 midway through when Jacob Peterson broke a 13-13 tie by hitting a sharp kill just through the Wheeling block.

Aaron Peterson earned a block kill moments later, and the Vikings cruised until Wheeling rallied late.

A nicely placed tip-kill from Wildcats senior Michael Lechowicz brought the visitors to within 23-22.

But Wheeling (0-1) couldn't get any closer, and a definitive cross-court kill from Michalski helped close out the match.

"This was a rough start," said Lechowicz. "We're still getting it together, but we're a senior-based team and we've got a lot of potential. We just got to work on our chemistry."

Jacob Peterson, Fremd's second setter, also contributed with 9 assists. Aaron Peterson led the way on attack with 9 kills, while defensive specialist Alex Wysocki finished with 8 digs.

"We may be inexperienced," said Pinley, "but physically our team is in a real good position."

Michael Best hit 4 kills for Wheeling in the second set to try to lead a Wildcats rally.

"This was a good, competitive match for both teams," said Wheeling coach Jason Kopkowski. "It's good to get out here in a real game after 13 practices and see where you're at, what you're doing right - and what you have to work on."

Elk Grove d. Palatine: A deep attack group led the way as visiting Elk Grove came up with a 26-24, 25-18 victory at Palatine.

Kevin Doyle paced the Grens with 10 kills and Kevin Braceros had 6, while Shivam Amin and Luke Augustaitis had 5 apiece.

Elk Grove setter Ed Gonzalez went 52-for-53 setting with 27 assists while Vesel Zulku had a team-best 4 digs and Augustaitis had 5 blocks.

Palatine's top performers were Zach Walczynski (8-for-11 hitting, 6 kills), Matt Cooper (4 blocks), Camden Hill (3 blocks) and Diego Garcia (5 digs).

Rolling Meadows d. Conant: Senior libero Marc Quezada came up with 10 digs and a 7-for-7 serving effort as the visiting Mustangs won 25-14, 25-21 at Conant.

Logan Reese had a team-high 9 kills and Max Sobkowicz had 4 for Rolling Meadows. Arthur Barczak had 2 blocks and Billy Psarros (12-for-14 serving, 2 aces) and Kyle Kornblum (7-7, 1 ace) were strong at the service line.

Barrington d. Prospect: The host Broncos had great balance as Sean Dolan and Michael O'Toole finished with 6 kills apiece and Stephen Wanca and Michael Hagan had 5 digs each in a 25-12, 25-8 victory.

Evan Carroll had a team-best 18 setting assists, while Gabe Hartke (5 kills) and Jacob Werner (4) were strong in the attack.

Buffalo Grove d. Hoffman Estates: Ian VanWazer (8 kills) and Chris Tsourmas (7) led the attack as the Bison got off to a winning start with a 25-17, 25-14 decision.

Brian Franz had a team-best 3 blocks for BG, and Greg Scheider came up with 17 digs.

Hersey d. Schaumburg: Camran Saeed had a team-best 6 kills and libero Justin Hong delivered 19 digs as visiting Hersey earned a 25-21, 25-14 victory.

Hersey setter Vince Reisel was 47-for-47 with 25 assists; other big contributors for the Huskies included Jake Mailloux (5 kills), Matt Hopkins (5 kills, 3 blocks) and Joe Nugent and Patrick O'Brien (5 kills apiece).