Boys volleyball: Weltzien works hard in Palatine's win

Matt Weltzien is filling the role of elder statesman for Palatine's boys volleyball team this season.

It's just the first year on varsity for the libero - he played junior varsity the last two years - but Weltzien is one of only two seniors in the starting lineup for the youthful Pirates.

Still, he's already saying the right things and showing the kind of leadership skills that only an upperclassman can provide.

"We lost Tuesday (to Fremd)," Weltzien said. "So we came to practice early Wednesday and stayed late. The coaches pushed us, and we pushed ourselves to set ourselves up for today. We've got a lot of competition on this team, especially right side and at my position, libero. That makes us play our best."

Palatine wasn't always at its best Thursday night against Hoffman. The match featured some great plays and long rallys but also some head-scratching errors.

But the Pirates persevered and came through at the finish of both games to score a 25-23, 25-23 victory over host Hoffman in Mid-Suburban West conest.

Palatine improved to 1-1 in the West while the Hawks suffered another tough loss to fall to 0-2.

"We fought through some adversity tonight," said Hoffman coach Dan Hutton. "We fell behind 6-0 in the first game but were able to rally. Then the guys forgot about that (Game 1 loss) and came out strong in game two. They did a nice job."

It was Weltzien who handed his team the victory in the first set.

Palatine led 24-23 when the senior's serve tipped the top of the net, hung there for a moment, then fell uncontested on the Hoffman side for the winning ace.

"That was just luck," said the senior with a laugh. "We were lucky to win that first game. Too many errors. But we cleaned that up as the match went on."

The deciding set stood at 22-22 when a disputed call at the net went Palatine's way after a long discussion by the officials.

Hoffman knotted the game on the next point at 23 with a sideout but then it was time for the big hitters of Palatine.

First, Ronak Patel had a big swing to bring the Pirates to match point before Curtis McLennan ended the contest with a no-doubt-about-it kill.

McLennan led the Palatine attack with 10 kills on 17-of-17 hitting while Johnny O'Shea added 5 kills and 4 blocks.

"We were able to push through at the end and play as a team and not as individuals," Patel said. "We talked about how we gave 33 of Hoffman's 46 points to them (via errors)so wanted to force the issue at the end, take it to them and win those points."

Ali Hussain had 9 assists for the Hawks while Michael Swan finished with 4 kills and Khalil Greaves had 6 kills.

"We've got a lot of hitting options this year," Hutton said. "And we had a lot of blocks. The good thing is that it's a long season, and our guys keep getting better every day."

Matt Cooper led the Palatine defense with 15 digs.

"We've been adjusting our lineup," Weltzien said. "And trying to figure some things out. At mid-season and at the end of the season we should be pretty good."

Buffalo Grove d. Wheeling: Buffalo Grove was able to overcome a strong defensive effort in a 25-18, 25-20 victory.

Ian Van Wazer (8 kills) and Chris Tsourmas (7 kills) led the attack for BG. Ryan Horvath was 4-for-4 hitting with 2 kills and 4 blocks, and Brian Franz finished 4-for-4 hitting with 4 kills and 5 blocks.

Wheeling's Michael Best had a team-best 7 kills, Matt Schiferl produced 14 digs and Kyle Bagarella was 38-for-39 setting with 16 assists, along with 11-for-11 serving, 7 digs, 2 blocks and 4 kills.

Fremd d. Conant: The Vikings improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the MSL West with a 25-15, 25-15 victory over the Cougars.

Fremd's top producers included Aaron Peterson (5 kills), Jacob Peterson (14 assists) and Rocco Stella (4 kills, 5 blocks).

Hersey d. Elk Grove: The Huskies jumped to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the MSL East with a 25-10, 25-10 decision.

Camran Saeed had a team-best 7 kills, while libero Justin Hong had 21 digs and Vince Reisel was 48-for-48 setting with 20 assists for Hersey.

Top performers for Elk Grove included Kevin Braceros (20-22 hitting, 6 kills, 12 digs), Ed Gonzalez (47-48 setting, 8 assists and 2 aces) and Carlos Leon (12 digs).

Rolling Meadows d. Prospect: The Mustangs got big hitting efforts from Arthur Barczak (9 kills) and Logan Reese (7) to notch their first MSL East win of the season.

Rolling Meadows got big dig totals from Marc Quezada (14), Szymon Kleniuk (12) and Billy Psarros (11), and Psarros (12 assists) and Joey Tunzi (11 assists) paced the setting effort.