Glenbard North seniors come up aces vs. Bartlett

Glenbard North third-year varsity seniors Trent Weber and Eric Tripp will continue as volleyball teammates next season at Clarke University, but first there's still some unfinished business this season.

"Every game, we kind of get our excitement out right in the hallway. We just get ourselves pumped up," Weber said. "During the game we bring it to every single point, motivate each other and just go with it."

On Monday, Weber sure ended the match in exciting fashion with back-to-back aces as the Panthers topped visiting Bartlett 25-17, 25-21 in Carol Stream.

The Panthers (6-1) collected 8 aces. After his ace on the right side of the court, Weber's match point came on a serve he still wasn't convinced hit the left sideline.

"That one was 4 feet out, honestly (from my angle)," Weber said. "It was lucky. I was targeting for that area."

Experience was the primary factor in the outcome. Although both teams had altered lineups for various reasons, the Panthers had five seniors, a junior and sophomore for its starting seven, and the Hawks (4-7) had six sophomores and a junior.

Still, Glenbard North was missing three players from its normal match rotation of nine. On Saturday the Panthers finished second at the West Aurora Tournament, losing to the host Blackhawks 23-25, 25-17, 25-16.

"We weren't playing like we have because (tonight's lineup) was different. I think they did a nice job pulling it together and pulling out with win and not getting too emotional," Glenbard North coach Dedra DeBenedetti said. "(Our players) stepped up and got the job done, put it away or made a smart play,"

Weber had 8 kills and 11 assists and Tripp and senior Raj Dave each had 5 kills. Tripp and senior Bryan Nguyen also had 2 aces.

Bartlett was limited to 10 kills overall, 3 by Jacob sophomore Bush with 7 assists from senior Omar Owda. The Hawks, though, hung tough and led the second game 15-12 and 20-19. Weber put the Panthers ahead for good at 22-21 on a setter dump kill and then served the final three points.

"We play them every year. We score a respectable amount of points, but we never find that other gear that going to push us over," Bartlett coach Bob Schwantz said. "They're a very experienced team. They've very technical. They're very athletic. They just do everything right."

The Panthers opened a 6-point lead in the first game before Bartlett came as close as 16-14.

Tripp served three points for game point at 24-16 before he and the Hawks exchanged service errors. For the match the Panthers had 10 service and 16 attack errors.

"I think experience helps out a lot, especially late in the game because we've been there before and we know what to do in those certain times," Tripp said. "I think that we played very well in our last tournament. I think that this isn't exactly a gauge of where we are because we're missing a few players."

In the second game the Panthers responded to their 15-12 deficit with a Tripp kill and then five points from junior Sanchit Kaitan on Hawks' errors to lead 18-15.

Back in front 20-19, the Hawks failed to convert a kill opportunity with an unorthodox attempt that went out of bounds.

"They gave us one of the easiest free balls for the match," Schwantz said. "I said, 'When good teams give you free balls, at least turn it into something. You can't just give them a point.' They'll learn."

The Panthers hope to learn from last year's regional final loss to St. Charles North and a disappointing third-game effort Saturday. The second-place plaque was on hand Monday as a reminder of how much more they want to accomplish. The 2009 state quarterfinal team also owns the program's lone regional title.

"We definitely want to place first in a tournament. We're definitely looking to win (the DuPage Valley Conference) and we want to get back at that regional we lost last year," Tripp said.

Tripp and Weber actually were middle-school volleyball rivals from Stratford and Jay Stream, respectively, before first uniting on the 2014 freshman team. Together they made their recruiting visit to Clarke in Dubuque, Iowa, but while Weber committed soon afterward in October, Tripp waited until early December.

"I was still looking around a little bit. I actually went on three (other) visits before I committed, just to make sure," Tripp said.