Neuqua calls on Blackman, Clark to close out Bartlett

When it came down to it, Neuqua Valley needed its big guys to close the deal.

With boys volleyball coach Erich Mendoza substituting freely in Game 2, he made sure to call on his heavy hitters when visiting Bartlett threatened to even the match at one game apiece.

The Hawks (9-9, 3-2 Upstate Eight Conference) took the Game 2 lead 24-21, but Neuqua's Jake Blackman and Brian Clark went back on the court and combined for 5 kills in the 29-27 win. The Wildcats (28-3, 6-0) won the first game 25-16.

"We had the chance to use our reserves because they didn't get much playing time in last weekend's Benet tournament," Mendoza said. "And all the guys played well. But I didn't want to go to three games, so it was no mystery who would be on the floor in that situation."

A Bartlett error gave the Wildcats the sideout trailing 24-22.

A 3-point run that included a kill by Blackman and another by Clark put Neuqua up 25-24.

Sam Hillis drove the Hawks back in the lead with a pair of timely smashes, but once again the deadly combo of Blackman and Clark each responded with a kill to give the Wildcats the advantage.

Then Hillis scored his third in a row for Bartlett to even the ledger at 27-27.

Neuqua then went back into the lead when Blackman scored again off the Bartlett block, and he ended the contest with a service ace.

"Jake is our go-to guy," Mendoza said. "It was no secret who the ball was going to and he still got the kills."

"We tried to call for the ball, so we could put it away," Blackman said. "We were brought into the game to make sure things went our way."

Blackman led the Wildcats with 10 kills and 2 blocks, while Clark and Derek Menendez chalked up 5 kills apiece. Rob Bauer served for 3 aces.

"Bartlett has a good defense," Blackman said. "They get a lot of balls up and that got us out of our rhythm. We played a little better today than we did when we played them earlier in the season when we won in three games. But we were still a little shaky."

Mendoza said he went back to basics at practice Monday after the Wildcats dropped matches to St. Francis and Naperville Central at the Benet tournament last weekend.

"Sometimes guys forget about the things that got us to this point in the season," Mendoza said. "So we reviewed defense and blocking and positioning on the court."

John Campolo and Chris Guimon each had 7 kills for the Hawks, while Hillis accounted for 5 kills and a block. Jason Theobald delivered 22 assists and Jeremy Sanchez was outstanding on defense with 18 digs.

"I'm proud of our kids because they played hard and overall they played smoothly," said Bartlett coach John Breines. "Our passing was good, but we were a little late on our blocks. Neuqua has a lot of good hitters and they run a quick offense. It says a lot about their depth that they're so comfortable putting all their substitutes into the game."