St. Charles East fends off Elgin in 3 games
The record might not show it, but St. Charles East got a look at an improved Elgin boys volleyball team Wednesday evening in St. Charles.
The Maroons, coming off a 4-32 season, pushed the Saints to a 15-15 tie in Game 3. That’s when Saints senior Josh Kreiner capitalized on one of the woes Elgin is still trying to shake — allowing big runs.
Kreiner rattled off nine straight service points to close the match and give the Saints a 25-12, 22-25, 25-15 victory.
“I have been working on my serve a lot in practice,” Kreiner said. “I just tried to get it over and hit my zones.”
Elgin (0-7, 0-1) coach Scott Stewart has seen those lapses before.
“We’ve got a lot of fight in us,” Stewart said. “But we lose focus for one point and all of a sudden it’s two and then five and then 10.”
It appeared early like St. Charles East (3-5, 1-1) would win in two. The Saints never trailed in Game 1. Billy Russell’s 5 service points extended a 13-8 lead to 18-8, a run helped by four of Elgin’s 13 errors or violations in the opening game.
Rejean Washington ended Russell’s run with a kill from an Angel Hernandez set, but that just temporarily slowed the Saints. Josh Carnell’s block on Elgin’s best hitter Zayya Oshana made it 23-11, and St. Charles East ended the game with a Tom Sheehan kill on a point kept alive on a hustling dig by libero Keaton O’Connor.
The Maroons looked like a different team in Game 2, opening with an 8-1 lead. Brendan Geils had a pair of aces while the Saints began making mistakes.
Elgin maintained a lead all the way to 18-18 when Russell’s kill pulled the Saints even. The teams were tied at 19, 20, 21 and 22 before the Maroons took the lead for good on a Saints hitting error. Oshana, a 6-foot-5 outside and Elgin’s lone returning starter, powered a shot off a Saints block for point No. 24, and followed with another kill to end the game.
“Zayya is a phenomenal hitter,” Stewart said.
The Saints only trailed once in the deciding game, 1-0. But Elgin battled for most of it, erasing a 4-point deficit for a 15-15 tie on Oshana’s 17th kill of the match.
That turned out to be the final one, however, thanks to Kreiner’s 9 straight points to end the match. Carnell came alive in the middle, blocking one ball, putting away a couple sets from Russell and also pounding a free ball. St. Charles East won match point when Oshana came up short on a tip attempt.
“They looked very strong,” St. Charles East coach Kate McCullagh said of the Maroons. “They were very scrappy and had a few good hitters. Once we got down a little (in Game 2) we struggled to get out of it. As a team we picked it up when we needed to.”
Sheehan led the Saints with 11 kills. Russell had 23 assists and 3 aces while O’Connor led with 12 digs.
Imran Hasan, after having no kills in Game 1, put three balls away in Game 2 and five in Game 3 to finish with 8 kills.
“He struggled a little bit at the beginning but bounced back so that was awesome,” McCullagh said.
The Saints will try to keep the momentum going when they host their annual 8-team invite Friday and Saturday.
“In the previous years we haven’t done as well as we’d like to,” McCullagh said. “Hopefully we’ll get a good practice in tomorrow and come in Friday and do well.”
Elgin returns to action Thursday against South Elgin.
“We’re all right, we just have to get over the hump and stick together,” Stewart said. “I like what I see. We’re working hard. When we are focused and playing together we’ll be a hard team to compete with. And I can’t complain about the hitting.”