Nixon's struggle ends as Barrington stops Palatine

Barrington boys volleyball coach Rob Ridenour said that senior opposite Jake Nixon has played very well in practice this season but has "struggled a little in games."

Until Tuesday night, that is.

Nixon came alive with a strong performance, especially in the deciding game of the Broncos' topsy-turvy 25-17, 16-25, 25-21 Mid-Suburban West victory over visiting Palatine.

The senior left no doubt by hammering the final two Game 3 kills to give Barrington the win.

"This was a nice breakout for Jake," said Ridenour. "He was explosive, especially in the third game. I thought he played an outstanding match."

Six-foot-4 junior middle TJ Shanahan led the Broncos on attack with 8 kills while Austin Czarnecki (12 digs) and Omar Gamboa (10 digs) gave a big assist to the victory on defense.

"This was exciting," added Ridenour. "I thought we did very well tonight in the first game with our defense and blocking. But Palatine flipped it in Game 2, and they were the ones who excelled in those areas."

Indeed, after struggling through the first half of the match, the Pirates turned things around with a 8-0 run midway through Game 2 behind the service of senior Pat O'Shea and the hitting of senior Colin Williams (9-of-9 on attack, 7 kills).

"I thought we made a nice adjustment in the second game," said Palatine coach Frank Stark. "But in the third game we got stuck in a rotation, a couple of calls went against us, and we didn't respond as well as we should have."

The final game was tied at 17-17 before Barrington (4-3, 1-0) ran off 6 straight points, helped along by 2 aces from Matt Logue, to take a commanding lead.

"Last year on varsity I was strictly a server," said Logue, a junior. "This year I'm playing more of an all-around game but I still have a strong serve."

The Pirates (4-3, 0-1) made it tense at the end when an ace from Justin Ginter brought Palatine within 23-21, but then Nixon took over by putting the final two balls to the floor.

The senior finished with 6 kills in the contest including two very big ones at the end.

"We went through a tough stretch in Game 2 tonight," said Nixon. "We weren't blocking well, but we turned it around and played a strong Game 3."

"We expect to do very well in conference this season - we just want to do our best, and we know if we do, good things will happen."

Ginter led Palatine from the service line, hitting 13-of-14 with an ace, while teammate Adam Hebein had 18 digs.

"Like I keep telling the kids," said Stark, "we've got a lot more growing to do than a lot of other teams, because we have a young team without a lot of volleyball experience."