Fremd stakes claim to get back in West race
Barrington and Fremd knew what was at stake going into Thursday night's Mid-Suburban West boys volleyball game in Palatine.
The Broncos and Vikings shared the West crown last year at 9-1, but both teams were struggling with 1-2 division records this season.
"We knew that we had to win this game to have a chance at winning conference," said Fremd senior Daniel Teschner.
The Vikings did just that, holding off a stirring Barrington rally to prevail 25-11, 21-25, 25-18.
"Barrington is a good team," Teschner said. "They're a big rival, so this gives us a confidence boost."
The Broncos offered little resistance in Game 1 as Fremd scored 15 of the first 18 points en route to the runaway win.
Between Games 1 and 2, the Barrington starters held an impromptu meeting on the court.
"We told each other that the way we lost in the first game was embarrassing," said Broncos senior middle Chris Michelotti. "We couldn't let that happen again to our program."
The fired-up Broncos took Game 2 behind the hitting and blocking of Michelotti (17 of 18 on attack, 6 kills), senior Dan Frommeyer (7 kills) and a game-winning block by middle Patrick Ryan.
"The guys showed a lot of heart coming back the way they did," said Broncos coach Rob Ridenour.
The Broncos rode the momentum of Game 2 into the third game and grabbed an early lead, but Kevin Prest's third ace of the match brought Fremd to an 8-8 tie.
Then behind the hitting of Teschner (match-high 10 kills) and the defense of Chris Chandler and Daniel Brophy (5 digs apiece), the Vikings ran off 6 consecutive points.
A dig by Cal Nolan, a set from Ben Whitmer (27 assists) and a kill by sophomore Steve Maring closed out the match for the Vikings.
"Our goal was to go 10 and 0 (in the West)," said Teschner, "but that didn't happen. Now we've got to the best we can with what we've got."
Fremd improved to 7-5, 2-2 -- while Barrington, seeking its fifth straight West title, fell to 3-7, 1-3.
Ridenour attributes a lot of that to the level of talent in the MSL this year.
"There's a lot of parity," Ridenour said. "All of our matches have gone 3 games, and that's a tribute to the strength of our conference."
"This is a turning point in our season," Michelotti said. "We have to decide how we're going to play the rest of the year, and start winning these close games."
Conant d. Palatine: Dan Lauterbach had 7 kills and 10 digs, Ken Ropiak had 8 kills and Ryan Schraub had 14 assists and 6 digs as Conant (11-3, 3-1) won 25-20, 25-20 to move into a first-place tie in the MSL West with Palatine (10-7, 3-1).
Josh Graham led Palatine with 10 kills.
Buffalo Grove d. Hersey: Joe Ascher continued his powerful season at the net as MSL East leader BG (12-4, 4-0) came back to beat Hersey 19-25, 25-21, 25-18.
Ascher finished with 23 kills on 30-for-35 hitting and had 2 blocks. Chris Falknor and Jim Wizniak added 9 kills apiece as setter Tom Angerame was 86-for-87 with 42 assists.
Griffin Dwyer had 8 kills, Jack Welter added 6 kills and Kevin Cayton got 15 digs for Hersey.
Elk Grove d. Meadows: Elk Grove (10-1, 3-1) rallied in the MSL East as Bryan Skwirut had 13 kills in a 20-25, 25-11, 25-23 win over Rolling Meadows.
Jonathan Tompary had 6 kills and 5 aces and Jon Condon was 69-for-70 setting for 24 assists for the Grens. Ryan Kedzie had 9 kills and 11 digs and Matt Vinezeano had 13 blocks for Meadows.