Fremd inches past Palatine
If football is a game of inches, then volleyball must feel like a game of millimeters to Ronny Lampen and his Palatine teammates.
Lampen's game-tying kill attempt in the third game was ruled to have landed just outside the line as the Pirates rallied from way behind only to fall just short against visiting cross-town rival Fremd.
The Vikings used a stellar hitting attack to hold off Palatine 25-22, 20-25, 25-23 Thursday night and gain a share of first place in the Mid-Suburban West with Conant.
"To be honest, I just wanted it to end," said Fremd sophomore middle Steven Maring as Palatine rallied from a 20-12 Game 3 deficit to draw within 1 point late.
"This just shows that Palatine is never out of a game," said Fremd coach Curt Pinley. "We threw everything including the kitchen sink at them and they picked up everything.
"But like I told the kids, the bottom line is that we closed out the win, and that's the important thing."
After the teams split the first two games, Fremd (15-7, 4-2) grabbed an almost insurmountable 8-point lead behind the blocking of Daniel Teschner (9 blocks) and the hitting of Daniel Brophy (8 kills).
But Palatine (13-11, 3-3) wouldn't quit and behind Lampen and 6-foot-10 senior Josh Rustman, who each finished with 9 kills, staged a stunning comeback to get within 23-22.
"I loved the intensity our kids played with," said Palatine coach Frank Stark. "They never gave up."
Down by 1, Lampen hammered what appeared to be a game-tying kill but the ball was ruled out to put Fremd up 24-22.
Lampen's next ball went right down the middle to again bring Palatine within 1 but senior outside hitter Kevin Prest got the final kill to give Fremd the win.
"You can't let them get runs like they did," said Stark, "and then try to fight back the whole match."
The victory capped a stirring week for Fremd, which was foundering with a 1-2 conference record seven days ago but now has won 3 straight conference matches and 7 of 8 overall, including a second-place finish at Saturday's Palatine Invitational.
"It's taken awhile," said Maring, "but we're starting to gell as a team.
"Our defense was solid tonight, and so was our hitting. Brophy and Prest were really flying around out there."
Conant d. Schaumburg: Conant overcame a slow start to keep pace with Fremd in the MSL West.
Drew Fisher (8 kills, 3 blocks, 11 digs) and Dan Aloisio (5 kills, 9 digs) played solid games as the Cougars (13-5, 4-2) rallied to defeat visiting Schaumburg 21-25, 25-13, 25-13 and claim a share of the West lead.
"They were forcing us into a lot of errors in Game 1," said Conant coach Peggy Scholten, "but in Games 2 and 3 we were able to make the necessary adjustments.
"Drew and Dan both had solid games, but the great thing about out team is that we have a very nice group of players and at any time any one of them can step up. We don't rely on just one or two guys."
Schaumburg (13-10, 3-3) fell despite another superb effort from senior setter Mitch Wiskirchen.
Wiskirchen finished 46-of-49 setting but also hammered 9 kills, was 5-of-6 on serve receive and had 4 digs.
"Mitch is one of the very best setters in the state," said Schaumburg coach Kyle Reid. "He's a special player and he's been playing some great volleyball this season."
BG d. Prospect: A first-game loss sparked BG (19-4, 6-0) to a 20-25, 25-20, 25-5 MSL East victory. Joe Ascher had 11 kills and Tom Angerame had 8 kills and 28 assists for the Bison.
Barrington d. Hoffman: Ma Martin's 9 kills led Hoffman in a 25-16, 25-21 MSL West loss.
Elk Grove d. Wheeling: Bryan Skwirut had 13 kills and 12 digs and Jon Condon had 29 assists for Elk Grove (16-2, 4-2) in the MSL East win. Tom Devitt had 7 kills and 4 blocks for Wheeling (9-12, 2-4).
Hersey d. Meadows: Setter Chris Hoffman had 21 assists and Kevin Catyon had 16 digs for Hersey (3-3 MSL East) in a 25-23, 25-23 victory. Ryan Kedzie had 10 kills for Rolling Meadows (8-8 overall).
St. Viator d. Marian: Tim Rast's 7 kills and John Lopez's 21 assists lifted St. Viator (6-7, 3-1) to a 25-15, 25-16 East Suburban Catholic Conference win.
Maine W. d. Niles N.: Brendan Joyce had 8 assists, 4 kills, 4 digs and 1 ace for Maine West (5-11, 1-3) in a 25-19, 26-24 Central Suburban North victory.