Neuqua Valley has too much power for South Elgin

The Neuqua Valley boys volleyball team has plenty of options to go to for a kill.

did notSouth Elgin .

The Wildcats had five players with at least 3 kills while the Storm had only two players with more than one in Neuqua's 25-18, 25-15 Upstate Eight Conference victory Tuesday in South Elgin.

"There is not one guy that we rely on," Wildcats coach Erich Mendoza said. "It's nice to be able to have those options on offense. It definitely opens things up for us and it causes problems for the other team on their block."

John Storm led Neuqua (24-9, 8-1) with 9 kills, including six in the opening game. Johnanthan Rychly had 7 kills. Connor Dart added six. Chris Hornacek and Tanner McKeown each had 3 kills.

The Wildcats' offense executed well in the first game, getting 15 kills. Rychly's kill from the right side on game point gave Neuqua the Game 1 win, 25-18.

South Elgin (16-7, 3-4) stayed close for a while in Game 2, trailing 13-10, before the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run to take a 23-12 advantage. A Storm service error ended the match.

Alex Blackwell had 25 assists for the Wildcats. Zach Gilligan finished with 13 digs.

This was Wildcats' first match in five days and they weren't able to practice last Friday or Saturday because of the sophomore tournament Neuqua Valley was hosting.

"I0 was pleased with the way we played considering it's been a while since we've gotten time in the gym," Mendoza said.

Andrew Gleason led the Storm with 8 kills. Ryan Pondel had 4 kills, all in the first game, but finished with a negative hitting percentage. Kyle Johnson had 16 assists.

"When we get a chance to play good teams we don't show up," South Elgin coach Adam Plach said. "We've got a good looking record, but the truth of it is, we don't see a ton of really good teams. When we come up against those top teams in the conference, we act surprised. We have the ability to compete with those teams. It's just something with the psyche right now."