Boys volleyball: Carmel too tall a test for Antioch

At 6 feet 7, Mike Scott clearly could help the hoops team at Carmel Catholic.

"I tried (basketball) as a freshman," the junior said.

Scott has grown a few inches since freshman year, and now he's a major man in the middle for Carmel's volleyball team.

"He's really light on his feet," Corsairs coach Kevin Nylen said of his 2017 All-East Suburban Catholic Conference middle hitter.

On Tuesday night, Carmel welcomed Antioch. The Sequoits were playing their first match of the season and couldn't handle the hosts, as Carmel won 25-13, 25-12 in a nonconference match.

Or did the Corsairs beat the Sequoits so soundly?

The first set was knotted at 8-8. On a few Antioch hitting errors, Carmel was up barely at 10-9.

"We've been on a long break," Carmel outside hitter Jackson Ptasienski said. "It's been nine days with no practices."

Ptasienski notched back-to-back aces and got help from a Scott kill to open some breathing room in the first set.

Ptasienski led the Carmel offense with 8 kills, and he made no hitting errors in the match. He added 11 digs.

"We just had to get the rust off," Nylen said after his team improved to 2-1. "It's been about two weeks since we have played. We started to figure out a few things. And gaining some confidence."

Connor Flatley showed off some skills at the net for Antioch's young team. Sequoits libero Ryan Glassman was quick to the ball.

"We have a lot of first-time players," Antioch coach Jamie Atkinson said. "I thought we served well and our blocking was good at times."

Carmel stormed out quickly in the second set. With Joshua Azucena serving, Carmel extended its lead to 9-4. Scott had 2 of his 4 kills during the rally. With Ptasienski serving, the lead grew to 13-6. Scott had 2 blocks, and James Harvey hammered a kill.

Harvey (3 kills, 2 blocks) helped Carmel extend its advantage to 18-9. Antioch came alive late on a Flatley kill and a block from Josh Lahti.

Carmel's Shawn Novak was at the line when the match ended. Ptasienski delivered 3 kills down the stretch. Austin James dished out 16 assists in the win, and Shayne Henderson notched 12 digs for the Corsairs.

"I think we can go far this year," Ptasienski said. "We get along really well on this team."