WW South takes Huskies' best shot
In Thursday's pool play at the Tiger Classic, Naperville North volleyball coach Roger Strausberger saws glimpses of what he wants his team to be, but only glimpses.
After playing defending champion and tournament host Wheaton Warrenville South tough in the first game, the Huskies went down to defeat 25-23, 25-14.
However, the inexperienced Huskies qualified for Saturday's Silver Division by defeating Oak Lawn 25-14, 30-28.
With two wins the Tigers will be in the Gold Division Saturday.
"In the first game there were signs that we were playing well," said Huskies setter Ryan Kristensen. "Our passing was good and that gave me the chance to set up our hitters, who were putting the ball down. But in the second game our passing fell apart. We have to work on getting our heads more into the game to accomplish our goals."
The Huskies (3-5) trailed by a few points for most of Game 1 against the Tigers. They tied it at 20-20 and then went ahead briefly.
At that point victory was possible.
The Tigers (7-1) moved ahead 23-22, but once again Naperville North tied it at 23-23. Then WW South's Eric Luhrsen and Kevin Mueller put down kills to end the game.
The second game was all Wheaton Warrenville South.
"We know what it takes to come together even when we're in a close match that's pumped up to play against us," Mueller said. "After Game 1 Naperville North probably realized they had given us their best shot. We often see teams come out a little slow in Game 2. They were a different team in the second game."
"We're making too many errors," Strausberger said. "We're doing the same things and expecting different results. We're not as aggressive as we need to be. You're not going to beat an average team making errors, and you're definitely not going to beat the best team in the state."
Shane Witmer led the Huskies with 5 kills and Sam Wilson added 4 kills.
Neill Nystrom led the Tigers with 7 kills and 3 digs, and Luhrsen added 5 kills. Joe Kelly dealt 20 assists and had 5 digs.
Against Oak Lawn the Huskies were more consistent in Game 1, but again suffered a letdown before pulling out Game 1.
"In Game 1 we played really well," Strausberger said. "It was a good all-around game for us. We were blocking and serving well. In the second game we had no rhythm and we were still making errors to keep them in it. We're a young team so there will be some inconsistency. We've been up and down in both our tournaments and we have to keep working on that."