Boys volleyball: 'Pumped up' Lake Park notches victory vs. Neuqua Valley
Even without being at its sharpest, Lake Park still is a very good boys volleyball team. It was Neuqua Valley's turn to find that out Tuesday in Roselle.
The Lancers moved to 32-1 on the season and 7-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference with a 25-21, 25-19 victory against the Wildcats.
"We came into tonight really pumped up, because this was our Senior Night," said Lancers senior Justin Yost. "I think we took the adrenaline and we didn't overuse it. We really fought. I wouldn't say we played our best, but we played good enough."
For instance, the Lancers had a handful of serving errors, something that might have been caused by all that energy left over from pre-match ceremonies.
"I think it was," Yost said. "I think the adrenaline really went through those guys and they decided to go for it all, go for the ace. We're taught to just keep our serve in and I think some people just decided to be the hero."
That's not something Lancers coach Tim Murphy wanted to hear.
"I hope not," Murphy said, "because in the playoffs we're going to have a lot of adrenaline rushing as we go. We focused as a playofflike atmosphere tonight. It's the end of the season. We want to be playing well at the right time.
"We had a point of emphasis on the service line. I wouldn't say that we were where we needed to be on the service line, but we battled back at the right times and made the plays that we needed to make. Certainly in the next couple of days in practice we will be working on serving and the mental game at the service line."
Neuqua Valley (23-8, 6-2) needed to be at its best to beat the Lancers. The Wildcats couldn't say they were.
"It was just a matter of us executing on our side - well, a lack of execution on our side," Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza said. "Lake Park's a great team. They have one loss for a reason. They don't make a lot of mistakes.
"Really that was the difference. Both Games 1 and 2, mistakes on our side, whether they were hitting errors, in both Games 1 and 2, a couple of serving errors. That was the difference."
The Lancers, ranked first in the Daily Herald Top 10, will try to complete an undefeated DVC slate when they meet Naperville Central on Thursday. Then they will focus solely on the postseason, which starts next week, and their goal of a state championship.
"I'm excited for it, really excited for it," Yost said. "I think everybody on the team is too."