Stevenson turns the tide against Hersey

Momentum was a hard thing to capture Monday night for the Hersey boys volleyball team.

Host Stevenson kept the Huskies off balance for the better part of the match as the Patriots posted a solid 25-20, 25-17 nonconference victory over Hersey after falling behind 10-6 in the second game.

The Huskies (3-5) played Stevenson (7-1) pretty tough in both games as they only trailed 16-15 late in the first game.

But an ace by Stevenson senior Collin Ryan (9-for-10, 3 aces) got the Patriots going in the right direction after that point.

Stevenson junior Aaron Zalewski added 3 service points with a key spike by teammate Brad Tiller (7 kills) extending the lead to 20-15 moments later.

A block by Tiller boosted the lead to 22-16 before a kill by Zalewski closed out the 25-20 win in the opener.

“Brad Tiller is very versatile for us outside and he creates his own space,” said Stevenson coach Tim Crow. “Jason (Fleischman) is probably our best hitter and Aaron (Zalewski) keeps them honest at the net.”

The Huskies did find that elusive momentum right away in Game 2 as 2 service points by Kevin Schroeder staked Hersey to an early 10-6 advantage.

But that was the visitors’ last big stand as the Patriots gradually chipped away at the lead with 3 quick kills by Fleischman (5 kills) giving Stevenson the lead for keeps at 16-14.

“I wish we would have played at the level I know we could the whole game and our passing was the thing that kept us in it,” said Fleischman. “It’s nice to see Collin (Ryan) get a lot of aces with his jump serve because he just started doing his jump serve a couple of weeks ago.”

Junior Brian Dubinsky (4 aces) really put the pressure on Hersey as his 4 services points, including 3 aces made the score 22-15 late in the second game.

Then leading 23-17, Ryan closed out the match with 2 services points as his ace clinched the 25-17 victory.

“Our serve reception and our floor game really had a hard time tonight and it seemed like we had a lack of focus at times,” said Hersey coach Nancy Lill. “Stevenson just outplayed us tonight and I think we are a lot better than we showed.”

Schroeder led the Huskies with 6 kills while teammate Mike Fuerst added 4 kills. Matt Cayton was 46-for-46 setting with 17 assists for Hersey while Stevenson’s Jonah May was 16-for-18 setting with 16 assists.