Boys volleyball: Rice edges Barrington for Vernon Hills title

Billed as one of the top volleyball tournaments in the state, the Vernon Hills tourney brings in teams as far away as Brother Rice, Sandburg, Loyola and Wheaton Warrenville South.

And for the fourth consecutive year, a new champion was crowned, as Brother Rice topped Barrington in two sets to claim the title. All in all, local teams did quite well on Saturday. Barrington took second while Libertyville finished third.

With libero Hari Ramakrishnan serving, the Barrington lead was 5-3 in set one of the title match. Barrington's last lead of the set was 19-18. Brother Rice claimed the championship, 26-24, 25-17.

"We had a nice weekend,'' said Barrington coach Rob Ridenour. "Beating Libertyville was a nice win. But in this match, we were a little late and a little slow. Brother Rice had four athletic outsides, so that made it tough."

Barrington's outside hitters also played well. Both Gabe Hartke and Michael O'Toole made the all-tournament team. Hartke had 12 kills in the title match while O'Toole added 11 kills. Setter Evan Carroll notched 17 assists.

Earlier on Saturday, Barrington (5-1) stopped Libertyville 25-18, 25-19. But was Libertyville at full strength? It seems a few players stepped out for spring break. That's OK for coach Jenny Smith, as long as those vacations are with their parents.

Libertyville stopped Sandburg 25-22, 25-23 for third place, and Jack Stevens was the Wildcats' representative on the all-tournament team. Yes, he's grown another inch.

"With my shoes on, I'm close to 6-4,'' Stevens said.

The slugger in the Wildcats lineup is headed for more volleyball next year at Ohio State. And he's delighted with the offer to play Big 10 volleyball.

"I broke my foot after the season and couldn't play during the club season,'' he said.

Stevens experimented with plenty of other sports before settling on volleyball.

"I used to play football, baseball and soccer,'' he said. "I wasn't really good at volleyball to start. But I've made good friends in this sport."

For the tourney, Stevens had 52 kills. He added 20 digs and 8 blocks. Teammate Colin Hawkinson also had 52 kills. Middle Mark Demaree had 15 kills and 7 blocks, while setter Carter Schaffnigt had 118 assists and libero Ryan Winiger had 42 digs.

Warren took sixth place behind all-tourney selection Fred Harris.

Host Vernon Hills was seventh. Derrick Jones was the Cougars' pick for the all-tournament team.

Naperville North defeated Glenbard East 25-20, 25-19 in the ninth-place match, and Wheaton Warrenville South outlasted Lake Zurich 25-27, 25-22, 28-26 in the 11th-place contest.

Rolling Meadows placed 13th, with Buffalo Grove 14th and Prospect 15th.