Boys volleyball: Downers Grove North sizes up Neuqua Valley

The long and short of it was that Downers Grove North got contributions from a number of people - some tall and others not so much.

Six-foot-8 middle Owen Wahlgren had 5 kills and 4 blocks, 6-1 outside hitter Tyler Featherstone had 5 kills and 2 blocks, and 5-8 libero Matthew Hopkins contributed 3 timely aces in Game 2 to help the Trojans defeat Neuqua Valley 25-22, 25-19 in the sectional semifinals Friday in Oswego.

Downers Grove North (31-7) will meet two-time defending state champion Glenbard West (37-1) for the sectional title at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Trojans trailed 15-12 in Game 1 when a pair of Wahlgren kills sparked an 8-2 run.

"There was a lot of excitement, a lot of emotion," Wahlgren said. "I was just having fun in Game 1. We had a lot of mistakes on serve-receive and we missed some serves. But we got on a run and finished. I'm happy. This was one of my better matches."

Three consecutive blocks by Wahlgren helped Downers North overcome an early 5-3 deficit in Game 2.

"He was huge," said Downers North coach Mark Wasik. "He's really improved his blocking during the second half of the season, and even when he's not connecting offensively, we need him out there for his blocks. It came to fruition with those three straight blocks."

Things only got worse for Neuqua Valley (27-10) from that point. Downers North libero Matthew Hopkins uncorked three aces during his service run and the Wildcats found themselves facing a 16-7 deficit.

"One kid's (Hopkins) jump-serve broke us down," said Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza. "Serve-receive was the difference in Game 1 and more of the same in Game 2. We just couldn't get into a rhythm. The only time we did was early in Game 1.

"Give North credit," he added. "They didn't make a lot of mistakes."

Downers North also received 6 kills and a block from Brian Long, 4 kills and an ace from Michael Price and 18 assists and a kill from setter Michael LeGros.

"To be successful you must be a full team," Wasik said. "You have to present multiple looks and you have to execute. We can come at teams from all angles. It's just a matter of first contact. If we can control first contact, we can go from there."

Neuqua Valley was led by Kevin Kauling's 14 assists and 2 aces. Jeremy Grove had 7 kills and an ace, Jeremy Cardenas added 4 kills and 2 blocks and A.J. Housholder chipped in 4 kills and 2 blocks.