St. Charles North takes 3rd at Blackhawk invite
With Maine South - the defending state runner-up - and perennial Upstate Eight front-runner Neuqua Valley coming up this week, St. Charles North got just the tuneup it needed Saturday at the first annual Blackhawk Invitational.
The North Stars bounced back from a tough three-game semifinal loss to Oswego by beating host West Aurora 26-24, 25-21 in the third-place game.
"We have three tough games coming up this week so it was good to get a tournament," St. Charles North senior middle Jeff Beach said. "I thought we did well. We can improve but I thought we did good for our first tournament."
St. Charles North (5-1) defeated Westminster Christian and Joliet West in pool play and split two games with West Aurora, 25-18, 19-25.
That took the North Stars into a semifinal matchup against Oswego. The North Stars opened with a 25-21 victory and were leading 20-18 in Game 2 before the Panthers rallied to win 25-21.
"We weren't getting the matchups we wanted," St. Charles North coach Todd Weimer said. "We weren't quite clicking. We weren't talking as much as we should."
Oswego rode that momentum into the third game and won easily, 25-13.
"I thought we tried hard in the semifinal, we couldn't really stop their middle," Beach said. "In the third game we got down."
West Aurora (3-4) lost in two games to Bolingbrook in its semifinal.
The Blackhawks led almost all of Game 1 in the third-place game. The North Stars didn't take their first lead until Beach slammed down a set from Pat Sullivan that made it 24-23.
Joseph Frommert's kill for West Aurora tied the game at 24 before Sullivan set Branden Hoerner and Beach for the final two game-deciding points.
Not being able to finish games is something West Aurora coach Tolis Koskinaris said has been a problem for his team.
"As a team we have issues with the spread between 20 and 25," Koskinaris said. "Some people would say that's leadership. At times we lack a true leader on this team."
St. Charles North also rallied late in Game 2. Two service points from Binali Khrushidov, the second won after a heads-up play by Frank Martinez, give the Blackhawks a 20-18 lead.
St. Charles North ended the game scoring 7 of 8 points, including a match-sealing ace from Sullivan.
"The guys talk about we need to work on finishing," Weimer said. "We didn't finish matches last year. That is one of their biggest goals. They are doing a good job of it."
Beach's consistent play throughout the five matches Saturday earned praise from his coach.
"Just phenomenal," Weimer said. "He just pounds the ball. He's a great guy, very positive. He's always trying his best. Those are the kind of players coaches look for and like coaching. He blocked, mostly his attacking, he helped carry us all day."
The North Stars got a lift from Dillon Havens playing for the first time this year.
"He did a good job stepping up, serve-receive, defense and hitting," Weimer said.
Like Havens, libero Kevin Rose provided solid ball control.
"He is constantly harping on the guys, defense, serve-receive, he makes amazing digs," Weimer said. "It's nice to count on a guy to pass the ball."
The challenges will begin to come at the North Stars quicker, starting with Maine South on Monday.
"I feel like we are more prepared now," Weimer said. "Our goal was to be 3-0 in pool play and be playing in the championship game so the guys are a little disappointed, I'm a little disappointed. But it's a good start and we are going in the right direction. I think that's what matters the most."
Likewise, Koskinaris also found bright spots in the Blackhawks' play.
"Overall we did some much better things than we did last year," Koskinaris said. "I thought we did a decent job. There's just a little bit of maturity that needs to take place there. But they played harder than they did last year."