With plenty of seniors back, Saints looking for best season yet

As he prepares to begin the final two months of his high school career, St. Charles East senior Jeff Jones has one goal in mind for the Saints' boys volleyball team.

"I'd like to make it out of regionals," said Jones, a three-sport athlete who plans on playing soccer next fall at Illinois Wesleyan University.

"In both soccer and basketball, we ended the season a lot shorter than expected.

"I'd enjoy winning something."

With the boys volleyball season scheduled to begin next week, the respective teams from St. Charles East, St. Charles North and West Aurora would all like to add to their win totals this spring.

Third-year St. Charles East coach Stephanie Gooden feels the time is right for the Saints to improve upon last year's 12-win campaign and fifth-place Upstate Eight Conference finish.

"We finally have in place what we need to improve," said Gooden, whose Saints open the 2009 season Tuesday at Hinsdale South. "Out of our 10 returnees, nine of them are seniors. They understand our expectations.

"And we've got four guys with club experience - which is the most ever at St. Charles East."

With the added experience and refined skill level of the players, Gooden has already seen positive changes at preseason practices.

"This is the first time since I've been here that we haven't had to go over fundamentals on day one," said the coach. "There's more competition from within at practice and the guys are pushing themselves.

"Every season we start behind trying to play catch-up because most of the other teams have all club players. There's not as big a gap this year."

Jones, a third-year starting setter, agrees with his coach.

"Skill-wise, I think we're a lot better off than we were last year," said Jones. "Personally, I'd like to think I've improved a lot. My sophomore year, we had great hitters so I wasn't pressured much to make perfect sets. Last year, I worked more on where the hitters wanted it (the ball) specifically since we had some new guys.

"Now I feel I can help show guys the different spots on the court that are open."

The 6-foot-2 Jones may see an increased role as a hitter if all goes well.

"I know he's wanted to hit for a while," said Gooden. "We've been working on a 6-2 (attack) and there may be situations where we'll let Jeff hit if it's possible."

Other returning seniors include outside hitters Jack Rasmussen, Eric Coleman, Richard Wiesolek, Zack Hiatt, middle blocker Taylor Heavington, defensive specialists Kyle Ritter, Sean Kelly and libero Alfredo Valle-Coto.

Juniors Baxter Reed, Taylor Flahaven, PJ Upton and backup setter Brandon Cermack bring added depth to the lineup, with Valle-Coto, Coleman and Cermack having prior club experience.

"There's a lot of competition for spots," said Gooden, who also may utilize the services of sophomore club player Tom Sheehan.

The Saints will face a tougher schedule this year that includes tournament stops at Marist, Waukegan and Schaumburg, as well as their own invitational.

With a combined 2-year record of 46-30, St. Charles North will try to continue its winning ways with a new coach at the helm.

Guy Lum, who began his coaching career at Burlington Central (freshman, assistant varsity) before serving as girls head varsity coach at Westminster Christian the past 4 seasons, brings a cerebral approach to the table for the North Stars, who were 24-14 in 2008.

"I asked one of our seniors the other day after practice how he thought things were progressing," said Lum, who also coaches for the newly named Top-Flight Volleyball Club in Gilberts. "He told me, 'you are a very organized person. We're not used to that sort of organization.'

"I like to have things structured, especially since our early practices are shorter than normal because of the number of teams also needing the gym in the spring."

With the graduation departure of standout middle hitter Rusty Lavaja (now at BYU) and other varsity veterans, the North Stars feature a different look this season.

"We're junior-heavy," said Lum, whose squad begins play Tuesday at Leyden. "I'm hoping we'll peak a little more next year but that doesn't mean we can't be strong with a bunch of juniors."

Returning seniors Kegan Haeseli (OH), Ben Marquez (L/OH) and Nick Taube (MH) are joined by varsity newcomer Kyle Fredericks (DS).

Jeff Beach (MH), Matt Behrens (OH), Pat Sullivan (S), Jamie Hampton (OH) and Dillon Havens (OH) head the list of promising juniors.

"A lot of them are club players so we're grateful for that," said Lum. "We probably won't have any elite superstars this year but I actually did better without superstars this past fall (at Westminster Christian) than the previous season when we had a couple outstanding players.

"Not having one go-to guy sometimes works to your advantage because opponents don't know where the attack is coming from. It also promotes team chemistry."

Meanwhile, West Aurora will try to improve in the rugged DuPage Valley Conference with the return of 6-3 sophomore (MB/OH) Kyle Pilmer and teammate Jordan Harold (OH).

Who is the team to beat in the DVC?

None other than 2-time defending state champion Wheaton Warrenville South, which has pocketed 5 state titles since 2001 and owns six consecutive Elite Eight appearances.

A year ago, the Blackhawks opened regional play with a 3-game victory over Lemont before being swept by Naperville Central.

West Aurora begins its season at home Monday against Waubonsie Valley before opening DVC action April 7 at Naperville Central.