Neuqua Valley not getting excited about regional win
The Neuqua Valley boys volleyball team was happy to win its own regional championship with a 25-11, 25-17 victory over Plainfield South on Wednesday, but the team's goals are higher, so they're not going to get too excited about each win.
The Wildcats, a mostly senior team, finished third at state last year and they're taking it one step at a time because they hope to challenge for this year's state title.
"We feel really good and we're pumped up from playing well tonight," said outside hitter Rob Bauer. "But now we can focus on the sectional semifinal on Friday."
The Wildcats (34-3) dominated Wednesday's first game from the beginning, as they rode middle hitter Derek Menendez dramatic kills and blocks to a 12-3 lead, which they expanded to 22-9 before putting the Tigers (25-7) away.
That first-game start was important because the Wildcats, by their own evaluation, were a little sluggish in beating Plainfield South on Tuesday.
"Every aspect of the game was better tonight," setter Alex Onsager said. "Last night we played at about 50 percent. Tonight it was all there."
Coach Erich Mendoza agreed.
"Tonight was indicative of Neuqua Valley volleyball," Mendoza said "Yesterday, we played not to lose, today we took the game to them and played to win. We were very aggressive. We took nice swings, served more aggressively. I'm proud of the way we played tonight."
The Wildcats suffered a brief letdown at the beginning of Game 2. They fell behind 12-9 before going on an 8-1 to get back in control.
"The great blocking we had in Game 1 wasn't there at the beginning of Game 2," Mendoza said. "We were getting touches, but we weren't getting the ball back over. There was a little drop in our passing. We were a bit off the net at the 10-foot line. It's hard to run what we want to run when the passes are out there. And it makes it easier for the other team to block."
But everything turned around when the Tigers got their 12th point.
"That's when everything started to come together and we played the way we did in the first game and pulled away a little bit," Mendoza said.
Menendez finished with 11 kills and 2 blocks, while Bauer chipped in 9 kills and 3 blocks. Onsager had 27 assists and Kevin Begley led in digs with 10.
Mendoza also praised Tim Brackett's passing and the blocking of Jonny Coraglio and Grant Hedrick on the right side.
"We're a pretty solid veteran team," Onsager said. "Every guy can hit and we all know where we're supposed to be and what plays we're going to run. We came out with a strict offensive plan and executed it very well."
Brett Gunderson led Plainfield North with 6 kills and Jeremy DeWeerdt had 4.