Hoffman, Prospect have hit their stride
It happens to almost every student-athlete in his final year of prep competition, and Prospect senior volleyball player Dan Hoffman is no exception.
You see your season entering its latter stages and you can’t believe that soon you might be playing your final high school game.
“It’s nuts,” said Hoffman. “I can still remember walking through these gym doors as a freshman — and now Senior Night is here. Unbelievable.”
Luckily for Hoffman and his teammates, the way they’re playing, there’s a good chance their season won’t be ending for a while.
The Knights defeated visiting Rolling Meadows 27-25, 25-20 to win for the 13th time in their last 20 matches and improve to 14-17 overall, 4-5 in the Mid-Suburban League East Division.
Prospect began the year at 1-10 but has steadily improved.
“We started the season at the (Buffalo Grove) Bison Battle, playing some of the top teams in the state,” said Prospect coach Mike Riedy. “It was tough to get out of that slump, but I think lately the boys have started relaxing and playing looser on the court.”
Junior Pat Macilwee led the Knights in hitting with 9 kills, while sophomore Kevin Murphy played a stellar match for Meadows with 12 digs and 7 kills.
It was another case of close, but not close enough, for the Mustangs (4-16, 0-9).
“If I had a dollar for every game we’ve lost by 2 points, I probably could retire tomorrow,” said Meadows coach Tim Piatek. “Kevin stepped up for us tonight but we’ve yet to go through a match with a balanced, consistent attack.”
The Mustangs rallied in the first game to forge a 25-25 tie, but a net serve followed by a Hoffman tip kill led Prospect to the victory.
The hitting of Hoffman (8 kills) and classmate Jimmy Muzzillo (6 kills), combined with the defense of junior James Doughty (9 digs), helped Prospect win going away in Game 2.
Another Knights senior, Andrew Busse, was a force with 4 kills on 8-of-11 hitting, while fellow seniors Ray Urban and Kevin Mazurek also made clutch contributions on Senior Night.
“We’ve been getting some solid wins lately,” Hoffman said. “We’re making a big push for the postseason. I think if we pick up our passing and keep up the communication, we’ve got a chance to go far.”