Boys volleyball: Hersey completes East repeat
The Hersey boys volleyball team clinched its second consecutive Mid-Suburban East championship Tuesday night at Buffalo Grove.
The Huskies won 25-21, 25-14 to improve to 8-0 in the division (and 24-3 overall), and senior Mike Seneczko said there's much more success on the way for his squad.
"It feels great," said Seneczko. "It's all due to coaching and teamwork. We trust each other and we go out there every night and work hard.
"We have goals to not only win the East but to go undefeated (in the MSL), so this is just the first mark on the checklist."
Senior libero Christian Hong had 10 digs for the Huskies.
"To come back and dominate again this year is a great feeling," said Hong. "We lost a lot of great players from last year's team (to graduation), so this is just amazing."
Kyle Orton earned 5 assists for BG as the Bison honored long-time educator and coach Nancy Conlin before the match.
"Nancy is just an awesome person," said BG coach Tim Kosiek. "She exemplifies the best of Buffalo Grove High School and she's made so many incredible contributions to our school.
"She bleeds blue and orange, and has made a lasting impact on so many lives."
Conlin, who started teaching biology in 1985 at BG and has been involved in numerous sports over the years in various capacities, including coaching, is retiring this year.
"It's bittersweet," said Conlin about her upcoming retirement. "It's been an awesome career."
"I'm going to miss the intensity of the kids," said Conlin about her commitment to the BG athletic department. "The level of competition they bring (to their various sports), the fun they have with it and the interactions they have with their coaches and how the coaches mentor them."
Hersey took set 1 behind the hitting and blocking of middle Joe Nugent.
It was more of the same in set 2 as the Huskies went on a 7-point run early as Jakub Migus and Nugent each had 2 block kills.
Hersey made it 18-10 when Seneczko dove into the stands to make a spectacular dig, and Nugent followed it up with a block at the net for the point.
Andrew Leno and Alec Naumowicz had the final 2 kills to close out the match for the Huskies.
Lucas Ledgerwood recorded 3 kills for BG, while Nugent finished with 7 kills and 7 blocks for Hersey.
Huskies setter Migus posted an impressive line of 16 assists, 10 digs and 5 blocks; teammate Jake Mailloux hit 7 kills; while Leno and Camran Saeed finished with 5 kills apiece.
"It wasn't the prettiest match," said Hersey coach Nancy Lill, "but we're happy to get the win. Buffalo Grove is always competitive and they've got a great program and a great coach (Kosiek). We knew they weren't going to roll over for us."