Prospect boys volleyball team bounces back at invitational
The Prospect boys volleyball team won its own invitational Saturday without dropping a single game.
The feat was even more impressive considering that just 2 days ago, the Knights suffered their most emotional defeat of the season.
Prospect still had hopes of a Mid-Suburban League East Division title when hosting undefeated Buffalo Grove on Thursday, but the Knights fell in a tense match 23-25, 25-21, 21-25.
The Knights were able to put that behind them and defeat Evanston, Hoffman Estates, Libertyville and St. Charles North, all in two games, in the annual tourney that has been renamed the "Glen Elms Memorial Tournament" in honor of the longtime coach who passed away in December.
"We were so close," said Prospect junior outside hitter Mike Gemkow of the game against BG. "I thought we had it. We've played our best two matches of the season against Buffalo Grove, and I think that's going to prepare us for the postseason."
St. Charles North (11-13) won its first three matches - all in three games - before falling to Prospect in the title match.
After Prospect (17-12) took Game 1 by 25-14 decision, the North Stars fought back to grab a 13-10 advantage in Game 2 after a tip kill by Matt Behrens.
But Prospect outside hitter James Hoffman hammered 6 kills down the stretch to lead the Knights to a 25-21 win.
Hoffman led Prospect with 44 kills on the day, while classmate Kevin Reed added 24 kills. Setter Kevin Wolter finished 209-for-212 with 110 assists, while libero Sean Baltowski had 20 digs.
Junior Ben Moxley led a run from the service line in the title match, and Mike Hammersely contributed on serve.
"As the season has gone on," said Moxley, "we've learned a lot about ourselves, and a lot about each other's games."
"We've been playing hard all the time and we're going to keep that up."
"We've been playing a lot better recently," said St. Charles North libero Kevin Rose. "We've played hard and with a lot of heart. We had a lot of energy and emotion today, especially in the first three matches, and we've got to keep that up for the rest of the season."