Karch, Buffalo Grove eye big goal
Lukas Karch and his Buffalo Grove volleyball teammates have set their sights on a very clear goal.
"Same as every year," said the Bison junior setter. "We want to be state champs."
Judging from their performance Tuesday night at Elk Grove, BG is right on target to make the run of a lifetime.
Karch led a dominating show, excelling in every area of the game as the Bison scored a 25-14, 25-10 Mid-Suburban East win over the host Grens.
The junior not only set up a victory with 19 assists, but stroked 3 aces, had 3 blocks, and hammered 3 kills including an impressive "bump kill" from the back row.
"My hitters make my job easy," said the modest Karch, in his first year of full-time setting for the Bison. "Even if my sets are not the best, I know I can count on them."
BG (21-5, 8-0) coach Matt Aiello knows it's not just the capable hitters that makes the junior setter stand out.
"He's extremely talented," said Aiello, "and he's a hard worker. He's doing a very nice job for us."
Elk Grove coach Dan Windholz could only shake his head after BG's striking performance. The Grens had played the Bison tough earlier in the year, losing 25-23, 26-24, but ran into a team that was playing on full-throttle Tuesday.
"We're going through some things as far as chemistry is concerned right now," said Windholz, whose team fell to 10-12, 4-4 in the East. "But to be fair, we've played some really good teams lately. We've had to go up against Prospect, Mundelein and BG in our last three.
"We've got to be more consistent. We've got some offensive firepower, but sometimes our passing is lacking."
BG senior right-side Nick Baronti matched Karch with 3 aces and led the visitors on attack with 7 kills.
"We want to be as consistent as we can be," said Karch. "We're trying to get ready for the postseason and state, so we're approaching every game like it's a playoff game."
"We worked a lot on defense this week," added the junior. "We feel that we're the best offensive team in the state and we want to have a defense to match that."
BG defensive specialist Alex Kob was strong on the defensive end with a perfect 8-of-8 on serve receive.
"I've started to see a new commitment from the guys," said Aiello. "I can see the passion in their eyes.
"This is our favorite time of year. We really look forward to May - and June."
Conant d. Barrington: Zach Lindeman had 6 kills and 6 digs, Matt Schimel had 5 kills and 3 blocks and Vince Petrella had 9 digs for Conant (11-15, 3-5) in a 25-22, 26-24 MSL West win. Setter Sean Engelbreit was 53-for-56 with 15 assists.
Prospect d. Hersey: Mike Hammersley had 12 kills and Pat Atwood added 10 kills as Prospect (22-7, 7-1) rallied for a 23-25, 25-15, 25-22 MSL East win over Hersey. Andrew Busse had 6 block kills and setter Kevin Wolter was 82-for-83 with 25 assists.
Meadows d. Wheeling: Scott Shewmon had 9 kills and Briand Bourn had 22 assists and 3 blocks for Rolling Meadows (8-11, 2-6) in the 25-27, 25-20, 25-23 MSL East win. Mitch Lewis and Matt Levine had 13 and 12 kills respectively and Alex Tapas had 36 assists for Wheeling.
St. Patrick d. St. Viator: Richard McLoughlin had 7 kills and Patrick Ryan had 13 assists for St. Viator in the 25-19, 25-20 East Suburban Catholic Conference loss.