Boys volleyball: Glenbard West starts title defense by beating Wheaton North
Senior outside hitter Cam Lilly was expected to have a bigger offensive role this season for Glenbard West's two-time defending state champion boys volleyball team.
The 6-foot-5 and left-handed Lilly aimed much higher - going from playing two rotations to never leaving the court.
"I definitely worked on my back-row defense a lot," Lilly said. "Going into the year I wasn't that great, but I think I've tried to work on my serve receive and defense to try and get a bigger role, to play six rotations and be a more well-rounded player."
On Tuesday Lilly and the Hilltoppers looked good all the way around. They opened another playoff run by beating Wheaton North 25-16, 25-12 in the Glenbard West regional semifinals.
The Hilltoppers (35-1), the No. 1 seed of the Oswego sectional, seek their fourth straight regional title Wednesday night against No. 8 Downers Grove South (23-14), a 25-22, 24-26, 25-23 survivor over No. 9 Wheaton Warrenville South on Monday.
Lilly, the Hilltoppers' kill leader, had 7 more while senior Johnny Winkler had 5 and seniors Matt Scruggs and Robbie Murphy 4 each. Senior Sean Farmer had 20 assists and seniors Zac Norvid and Grant Tecson served for 12 and 8 points, respectively.
"It's been an outstanding year for (Lilly). He's doing everything right. Super proud of him. He's been a huge contribution to this team," Glenbard West coach Christine Giunta-Mayer said.
"The kids have to learn to play with whatever type of team. I think they did a really good job. They met their goals and they're just going to have to continue to try to get better."
No. 16 Wheaton North (16-21) played even at 11-11 in the first game until Norvid served 5 straight points for a 17-11 advantage.
In the second game Tecson's 7-point service streak opened a 17-7 margin. Norvid served out the final 5 points.
Wheaton North junior Daniel Duggan and sophomore Benett Schreiner each had 4 kills with 10 assists from senior Anthony Nickels. The Falcons started four juniors and a sophomore with Duggan collecting a season-high 217 kills and 70 blocks.
Wheaton North coach John Noe was pleased by a well-executed Schreiner kill off serve receive to open the match and a solid 2.23 serve-receive rating on a 3.0 scale.
"The fact that we did that in a regional semifinal against a really talented team speaks volumes on our serve receive," Noe said. "Our competitive edge never really faltered and it was nice to see. To see (younger) guys step up on a night like this, I couldn't be prouder of them."
Tecson is another key returning role player from the undefeated 2016 lineup. He enters to serve for middle Scruggs after doing the same last season for graduated Will Church.
"Mentally it's kind of a tough job. You've got to go in and then sit and really think about it for a while," Tecson said. "(Tonight) was a good run. I just focused on hitting my spots, putting the ball in the court, trusting the other five guys to play defense, get some blocks. That's what they did."
Lilly's transition has the added benefit of playing club ball since eighth grade with Winkler. The Hilltoppers may need better serve-receive and passing with the graduation of standout setter Paulie Bischoff, but several returnees have this group riding a 27-match winning streak.
"We have a lot of experience from last year and that really helps us out," Lilly said. "I feel like we've been playing really well as of late. That'll help us make this playoff run and kind of come together."