Bison set behind Angerame

Tom Angerame didn't appreciate how last season ended for Buffalo Grove in volleyball.

The Bison setter, then a junior, and his teammates had advanced to the Hersey sectional championship game against Mundelein, a team that had suffered only one loss all season -- to Buffalo Grove.

And after dropping Game 1, the Bison won Game 2 and had the third game win and a trip to the state finals in their sights when the unthinkable happened.

The Mustangs staged a late rally to win 26-24 and the Bison players could only watch in disappointment as Mundelein celebrated a berth in the Elite Eight.

"That was a brutal match," said Angerame. "The last point was like a stab in the heart. We had it, and they took it away from us."

It was a moment the senior has focused on since the final kill.

"We had it in our grasp," said Angerame. "The loss left a bad taste in our mouth."

But now it's a new season and the Bison, led by their star setter, are on a mission to earn what they feel is their rightful place in the state tourney finals, led by four talented seniors.

"We're a veteran team," says Angerame, "with myself, (right side hitter) Joe Ascher, (libero) Matt Bronson, and Jim Wizniak in the middle.

"Joe, Matt and Jim are all great guys, and they really stepped up for us last year."

But nobody played more clutch than the Arlington Heights resident BG coach Matt Aiello calls "hands down the best setter in our conference."

"Tom was named all-conference, all-area, and was team captain," said Aiello. "He has to be considered one of the top two or three setters in the state."

Angerame started playing volleyball in the seventh grade at St. Mary's school in Buffalo Grove and then followed in the footsteps of his brother, Marc, who played for the Bison.

Tom wound up making varsity his sophomore season, when then-coach Courtney DeBolt led the Bison to a fourth place-finish in state.

"I can't say enough good things about both coach DeBolt and coach Aiello," said Angerame. "They have their little differences as coaches, but they both know how to get you to play to the best of your potential."

Marc is graduating from Loyola University this year on his way to a career in medicine, but he still finds the time to mentor his little brother on the final points of volleyball.

"Just the other day," said Angerame, "after practice, he was critiquing my jump serve, and we were looking at film together.

"He watches the Loyola team play and watches what their setters do, and says, 'Can you do this? Can you do that?' He's a great influence."

And although Angerame, who may decide to attend Loyola as well with a major in biology, enjoys setting, he says his first love is hitting.

"When I first started at BG, they needed a setter," he said. "I had started out as a ball boy and they knew I had good hands, so they told me, 'You're going to be a setter.' But I'm always trying to sneak in hitting.

"Every time we play I'm begging coach Aiello for hitting opportunities."

So just how does Angerame see his role on this year's senior-laden team, one coach Aiello says has a legitimate chance to go downstate?

"There's only so much that a setter can do," said the modest Angerame. "It all starts with passing from Matt, and it ends with the hitting of Joe and Jim.

"My role is to be there to motivate them to hit and pass as well as they can do."

Last year turned out to be a roller-coaster ride for BG. The Bison started strong but faced some challenging moments late in the year.

"We had the best start I've ever seen of a team at Buffalo Grove," said Angerame. "Then in the second half of the season the trouble started."

The Bison at one point had a 3-game lead over Prospect in the Mid-Suburban East campaign but faltered late as the Knights won 8 consecutive conference games and overtook BG on the last day, denying the Bison a chance to play for the MSL championship.

"It was big that we didn't get to play for the (MSL) title," said Angerame, "but at that time I think that we were really focused on making our state-title run."

Now the focus is there again in 2008, and Angerame and the rest of Bison look forward to a championship run that isn't cut short.

"We do not," says Angerame, "want to end our season with a loss."