Hersey hangs tough, falls short
Firepower and good serving was the name of the game for No. 2-seeded Glenbrook North on Friday night against Hersey at the Niles North boys volleyball sectional.
The No. 6-seeded Huskies hung tough with the Spartans early in both semifinal games, but Glenbrook North proved to be too tough in the latter stages of the two games as it posted a 25-18, 25-18 victory over Hersey.
With the win, the Spartans (30-8) will play top-seeded New Trier for the sectional championship Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Huskies closed out their season with a 21-16 record and a Maine East regional crown.
“They (Glenbrook North) had solid passing so they were able to run their offense wherever they wanted,” said Hersey coach Jodi Blazek. “I don’t think anybody thought we would get this far being the sixth seed so it was nice to get this far.”
Hersey really gave the Spartans a run for their money in the first game as a service point by senior David Mullen-Muhr staked the Huskies to their biggest lead at 8-5.
But the momentum would quickly shift after that point with Glenbrook North’s Trevor Ponticelli rolling off 5 straight service points to give the Spartans the lead for keeps at 11-8.
Glenbrook North continued to gradually build its lead behind some powerful hitting and blocking by Luke Jacobson (7 kills) and Patrick Bedford (8 kills) as a big hit by Bedford gave the Spartans a commanding 23-14 advantage late in Game 1.
Hits by Hersey teammates Kevin Schroeder and Nick Wienold kept the Huskies hopes alive trailing 24-18. But a block by Danny Slutsky sealed North’s 25-18 win in the first game.
“We win because we play defense and we try to spread the ball around a little and that is the recipe that has been working,” said Glenbrook North coach Chris Cooper, whose team beat New Trier in two games in the regular season. “I felt Scott (Schwartz) had a real nice match for us and Danny (Slutsky) moved the ball around really well.”
Game 2 played out similar to the first game with Hersey staying within striking distance behind Mullen-Muhr (6 kills), Wienold (5 kills), and Jacob Portugal (5 kills) managing to keep the Spartans off balance with some aggressive play at the net.
But once again it was the relentless attack of Glenbrook North that would carry them through to victory as Schwartz added 7 kills to help the Spartans build a 22-17 lead in the second game.
A spike by Portugal cut the gap to 22-18, but North managed to score the final three points of the match with a spike by Bedford putting the finishing touches on the contest.
“I think we struggled a little at the beginning with our passing and the off-speed shots they were hitting at us,” said Blazek. “They’re such a well-balanced team, they have a lot of options, but our guys hung in there to get us this far.”
Junior Matt Cayton had an outstanding night setting for Hersey as he was 60-for-61 with 18 assists. Slutsky wound up with 20 assists overall.
New Trier advanced to the championship match with a 25-16, 25-12 victory over Glenbrook South in the opening match Friday.