Boys volleyball: Regional champ Hersey blocks out Warren

If it had been baseball, this game would have been ended by the 10-run rule.

That's how decisively Warren handled 31-game winner Hersey in set one of the Warren regional on Wednesday night.

It was an old-fashioned whipping to the tune of 25-14.

Warren (23-15) held a 10-7 lead in set two as well.

And then, as if the lights went on, the Hersey blocking game showed up. And block and block and block the Huskies did.

And with it, the Warren momentum from set one disappeared.

Hersey will represent the Warren regional in the Palatine sectional as the Mid-Suburban East champs rallied to win 14-25, 25-21, 25-19.

Hersey middle blocker Joe Nugent, he of 8 kills and 8 blocks, tried to explain what happened.

"Man, we better not come out flat in the second set,'' Nugent said. "Warren's serving was great. We haven't ever lost by that much before."

Hersey coach Nancy Lill, too was impressed by Warren's service effort.

"That was the best serving we've seen all year,'' Lill said. "Yesterday, Warren missed a lot of serves. But today, that serving took us out early."

Warren was the No. 9 seed in the Palatine sectional while Hersey was seeded third.

The Warren lead in set one hit 15-8 with Gavin Glickley at the serving line. Glickley was again at the serving line when the first set concluded. Hector Hiraz and Brett Bauer had the big kills, and the rout was over.

"We were the ninth seed so we felt we had nothing to lose,'' said Warren coach Yun Chen.

On a Kyle Wells block, the Warren lead was 12-9 in set two. And that's where the game changed.

"Our blocking was phenomenal,'' Lill said. "It was unbelievable. It was a game-changer. Nugent was touching everything."

It started with Matt Hopkins serving. Hopkins is another blocking weapon and his return to lineup recently has helped the Huskies surge.

The 6-foot-6 Nugent started the Hersey momentum swing with a block kill. Andrew Leno joined in on the fun as well.

"Once they started blocking, it came in bunches,'' Chen noted.

Hopkins (6 kills, 4 blocks) had a key block but the Hersey lead was just 19-17 because Mihajlo Gomez (8 kills, 12 digs) answered back for Warren.

Again, Hopkins and Nugent had some key kills late and Jake Mailloux closed the second set out with a kill.

"Our passing improved a lot in the second set,'' Nugent said. "Warren played a really good game, but this was our 31st win so we've had a pretty good year."

The third set was up for grabs as well.

"We started to play better,'' Chen said. "We had our opportunities."

Bauer was at the serving line for Warren. Alex Jiang supplied a block kill.

Gomez fired down a kill. A Bauer serving ace and a Hersey error gave the home team a 10-7 lead. There were a few ties down the stretch.

"Warren was better than their seed,'' Lill said. "But once we got into our offense, it was helpful."

The Hersey comeback began with senior setter Vince Reisel at the line. This time, Camran Saeed supplied a kill. Hersey's lead was still slim at 15-13, and then it was tied at 17-17 before Mike Seneczko's serving ace sent the Huskies to the sectional.

"We got to the regional championship,'' Chen said. "That first set might have been our best of the season. But we shouldn't hang our heads."

Hiraz had 6 kills and Wells added 5 kills. Setter Glickley had 25 assists.

Reisel notched 22 assists for Hersey. Libero Justin Hong had 20 digs, while Mailloux and Saeed both had 5 kills for the Huskies.