Huskies putting it together

The Naperville North boys volleyball team will be really dangerous if it can ever put it all together.

Though the consistency they'll need to win DuPage Valley Conference still wasn't there, the Huskies got a stellar performance from Dan Orna, who had 14 kills to lead the way in a 25-20, 21-25, 25-22 defeat of host Wheaton North on Monday.

"We're still trying to see what pieces are going to work best for us," said Naperville North coach Roger Strausberger.

"We all have to just get our heads together and be on the same page," said Orna, who also contributed 3 digs. "I know I can be this good every night, I just haven't been doing it all season. Bunge and Henry need me to take some of the attention away from them so they can get some kills."

Strausberger praised Orna for his fine match.

"Dan really stepped up on the right side," said Strausberger. "He just dominated the first game. And our middles had some good kills. But, our passing wasn't too sharp. When the setter has to move away from the net and out of system, he's not as consistent as he is when he's in system."

Orna said that despite the sometimes ragged play, the Huskies (9-5, 3-1) were confident they would win.

"We were staying positive and we never game up," he said.

The Huskies led through most of Game 1, though they gave up the lead once early and let the Falcons (5-9, 0-3) tie it up 7 times, the last at 15-15.

At that point, Orna went into high-gear with 4 kills, including the last three of the game.

The Falcons played with more intensity in Game 2, jumping out to a 13-5 lead and they still held an 18-10 advantage when a series of errors and some strong serving by Orna helped the Huskies creep back to as close as 21-19.

A couple of late blocks by Braden Anderson and a game-point tip-kill by Luke Nelson evened the match at one game apiece.

In Game 3, the Huskies got some semblance of the balanced attack that Strausberger has been striving for all year, with strong offense from Orna, Henry, Bunge and Dan Laughlin.

Orna scored the final two kills to put away the match.

Henry finished with 8 kills and 3 digs, Bunge with 2 kills and 8 digs and Miguel Cavillo with 5 digs. Setter Mike Buckman fed his teammates for 35 assists.

Matt Ahlberg and Nelson led the Falcons with 6 kills each, and Anderson had 3 blocks, 12 assists and 5 digs.

"This match was a pretty big step for us," said Wheaton North coach Ryan Baker. "We played much more consistently than we've been playing. A few mistakes on our part were the difference, because Game 3 could have gone either way. Giving them a little cushion in that third game is what cost us that match."