Glenbard E. gets a win over Wheaton Warrenville S.

For a team that says every match is practice until the postseason, Glenbard East sure played with a heightened feeling of passion Tuesday night.

The Rams, facing fellow DuPage Valley Conference power Wheaton Warrenville South, kept their record unblemished, defending their home court with a 25-19, 21-25, 25-15 victory in Lombard.

Hoping to emphasize the importance of postseason play, Glenbard East coach Marci Maier has continually encouraged her team to focus on improving each time out, rather than just racking up wins. So while Tuesday's match gave the Rams their toughest test so far this season, Glenbard East (9-0) knows regular-season victories don't make all the difference.

"It's higher intensity," Rams senior Tim Lovik said. "It's definitely all practice, because last year we beat them twice but we lost in the quarterfinals of state, so we can't just base our season off beating them."

"We have a real tough sectional. This is all practice until you get to the postseason," Maier said. "We haven't played anyone of Wheaton South's caliber yet this season, so this was a good opportunity for us to see where we're at."

Glenbard East trailed 9-7 in the final game before ripping off 18 of the game's final 24 points. According to Maier, Lovik's serve sparked the Rams' sudden spurt.

"Lovik went back and he was serving tough, and that enabled us to get a couple blocks," Maier said. "We served tough, and that set up our defense, so props go to Tim Lovik."

Glenbard East's active defense has been prevalent through its first nine wins, and Tuesday night was no exception.

"The bottom line is that we're going to play defense. We put up a good block tonight, touched a lot of balls, and I thought our middles transitioned well," Maier said. "That match could have gone either way, we were just hoping to play well tonight-and we came out on top."

The Rams' 10-point clinching victory also marked the largest lead of the match by either side. Prior to the last game, each team's biggest cushion sat at just six points, further proof of Maier's assertion that both teams could have emerged victorious.

Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier placed the onus squarely on his squad after coming up short in the third game, when the Tigers committed eight errors during Glenbard East's closing run.

"Us making bad decisions is really what it came down to," Schreier said. "We consistently made the wrong choice. We will not make the wrong choice again. We will play better."