Rams block out Huskies

Glenbard East threw a block party Thursday night in Lombard and Naperville North left wishing it hadn't been invited.

In a battle of teams off to 3-0 starts in the DuPage Valley Conference, the host Rams (10-0, 4-0) used a dominating block to stay unbeaten on the season while knocking off the Huskies 25-17, 25-19. Time after time the tall Rams rejected attacks by a Naperville North squad that entered the match after an emotional defeat of Naperville Central.

"We had a good win Tuesday and I was hoping some of that would carry over to tonight, but they're good," Huskies coach Roger Strausberger said of the Rams, who dropped his squad to 8-7, 3-1. "They've got weapons all over the place, and their block is big."

Six-foot-5 setter Mark Jones is one of Glenbard East's big weapons, and he finished with 6 blocks, 6 kills and 9 assists. During one sequence in Thursday's opener Jones recorded blocks for three consecutive points as the hosts turned an 11-5 lead into a 14-5 margin.

"We just went after it and we locked in on the ball," Jones said. "Our block is really good. It's one of our main lines of defense."

Jones had plenty of help as Piotr Dabrowski also had 6 blocks against the Huskies and Shawn Havenga added 3. Adding to the team's stellar defensive effort was Mark Kunberger's 10 digs.

"We have been blocking and playing good defense over the course of the season, but we did an exceptional job with our block tonight," Rams coach Marci Maier said.

Naperville North, which was paced by 7 kills from Shane Witmer and 5 from Colin Ball, trailed just 12-11 in Game 2 following a winner by Ball. But Glenbard East countered with a kill from Tim Lovik and then completed the sweep as its block once again took control of the game.

"It definitely gives you a lot of momentum and energy on your side," Maier said of the blocks.

Naperville North setter Ryan Kristensen, who plays club ball with the likes of Jones and Dabrowski, knew his team was in for a test.

"I play with their big guys on club so I know what they're capable of," said Kristensen, who had 21 assists in the match. "It was just tough to come in to their place tonight."

The Huskies setter said his squad tried to work around the Rams' big block, but some nights that's just not so easy to do.

"My sets might not have all been on, but they were surely blocking our hits," he said. "We tried to get off their hands a little and we tried to serve a little tougher, but they're big and they played really well."