Scouting DuPage County boys volleyball
By Neil Shalin
Top teams: Downers Grove North, Glenbard West, Lake Park, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, St.Francis, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton Warrenville South
Top players: Addison Trail: Dan Flores, OH, sr., Armin Trgo, OH, sr.; Benet: Luke Ladowski, OH, jr., Bobby Wehrli, OH, jr.; Downers Grove North: Zack Parik, S, jr., Greg Petty, OH, sr., JP Tulacka, MH, jr.; Downers Grove South: Sammy Kull, MH, sr., Ryan O’Halloran, OH, sr.; Glenbard East: Kevin Farrell, S, sr.; Tim Shenkin, OH, sr.; Glenbard West: Adam Lepold, MH, sr., Kevin McGinnis, L, sr.; Hinsdale Central: L. J. Booth, MH, jr.; Bobby Lenderman, L, sr.; Hinsdale South: Eric Damon, S, sr.; Lake Park: Matt Ciaglia, MH, sr.; Matt McCown, S, sr; Trace Szczygiel,OH, sr ; Metea Valley: Martin Krasuski, OH so.; Naperville Central: Albert Lei, S, jr.; Zach Madsen, OH, sr.; Sarvesh Somisetty, OH, sr.; Naperville North: Danny Boryca, L, sr., Steve Massoni, S, sr., Spencer Sauter, OH, jr., Shane Witmer, OH, sr.
Neuqua Valley: Alex Blackwell, S, sr.; Conner Dart, OH, , sr.; Jon Storm, OH, sr. ; St. Francis: Ryan Hanrahan, MH, sr., Jack Mordell, OH, sr.; Waubonsie Valley: Luke Furman, S, so.; Jordan James, MH, sr., Chris MacFadyen, OH, sr.; West Chicago: Leo Bartysel, OH, jr.; Liam Flaherty, OH, jr.; Wheaton North: Mike Rau, S, sr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Eric Luhrsen, OH, sr.; David Priest, S, sr.; Michal Stefanski, OH, jr.; York: Dan Lesniewski, L, sr.; Chris Scudder, OH, sr.
Outlook: We’ll start with Wheaton Warrenville South, which had what is considered a “down year” finishing only second at state after winning the title three years in a row. That was a relatively young team that has matured into an outfit that coach Bill Schreier calls “maybe the most talented we’ve ever had.” Luhrsen and Priest are senior leaders, but a group of juniors in returning middles Matt Nussbaum and Matt Callaway, the vastly improved Thomas Jaeschke and Stefanski, who played on the Polish National team, make the Tigers powerful and athletic all the way around.
There are several other teams in the area with an eye on the state finals, including the Tigers’ DuPage Valley Conference foe Naperville North. Five senior starters return for the Huskies, including super-hitter Witmer, floor leaders Boryca and Massoni, and junior Sauter could be on the verge of becoming one of the best in state. “We’ve been building with the group of seniors for the past three years, and now it’s time for them to prove that they can be successful through the post season,” said Huskies coach Nate Bornancin. Glenbard East is always in the hunt for the DVC title, and this year will be no exception. Naperville Central will rely on speed and defense to try to make it in among the top teams under new coach Jeff Danbom, and West Chicago will be a quick, offensive-minded team. Wheaton North will be more competitive than last year.
The Upstate Eight includes three teams that return many of the players who made them good last year, but could make them great this time around. Neuqua Valley has just about everybody back and is led by the high-flying Storm and setter Blackwell, one of the top setters in the state. Waubonsie Valley is still tall, but now the Warriors are experienced and sophomore setter Furman is back to set the tone for the offense. Lake Park, which returns five seniors from a team that made it to the top 16 in the state, is solid at every position. Metea Valley will be competitive in its first varsity season.
Downers Grove North returns Daily Herald All-Area captain Petty, and many of his talented cohorts from last year and have to be in the mix when you talk state title contenders. The Trojans are a skilled team with a great deal of depth. Hinsdale Central has the leadership and a great group of newcomers to compete for the conference title and go deep into the postseason, and this is the season Glenbard West has been pointing to as mainstays Lepold and McGinnis look to put an exclamation point on their brilliant careers.
Downers Grove South will have to fill in some holes left by graduation, but veterans like Kull and O’Halloran, lead a team that’s a “work in progress” but should be there at the end, and Hinsdale South has an experienced cast that looks to compete for the West Suburban Gold crown. Flores leads a scrappy bunch at Addison Trail, which is looking to bounce back from a sub-.500 year.
St. Francis lost a great class of seniors to graduation with Mordell and Hanrahan as the only regulars returning, but as usual the Spartans backups are ready to continue the team’s tradition that has produced five 30-win seasons in a row.
And if you’re looking for a sleeper, follow the progress of Benet. The Redwings showed flashes of their potential last year but suffered from youthful inconsistency. Junior hitters Ladowski and Wehrli lead a quick, determined squad that should make some noise.
Important dates: March 31-April 2 Tiger Classic at Wheaton Warrenville South; April 8-9 Glenbard East Springfest; April 21-23 Downers Grove Invitational; April 23 Addison Trail Invite; April 29-30 Benet Invitational; May 23 regionals, June 3-4 state tournament.