Burton helps Naperville Central solve Willowbrook
It was Jack Burton to Naperville Central's rescue at Tuesday's boys volleyball regional semifinal.
The senior outside hitter delivered 16 kills to lead the regional host Redhawks past a determined and energetic Willowbrook squad 25-20, 25-22.
The Redhawks (30-10) advance to Wednesday night's regional final against crosstown rival Naperville North, which defeated St. Francis 25-10, 25-19.
"Jack is a phenomenal player," said Redhawks setter Kevin Prazak, who had 27 assists. "If it's a hard set, I can put it anywhere and he'll still make a play off of it. And he puts it in great spots."
"Kevin moved me around to perfect spots," Burton said. "And his setting was on the net, so I could go right over the top."
The heroics of the Prazak-Burton combination were enough to give the Redhawks the victory in what coach Roger Strausburger labeled as only a "fair" performance.
"We're going to have to start blocking and playing defense if we have any chance at this tournament," Strausburger said. "We have some inconsistencies on our team that might ultimately cost us. Tonight, we were able to survive some tough situations, but we let ourselves get into those situations by having a limited amount of energy and excitement."
The Warriors (21-16) kept up with the Redhawks early in Game 1, which featured 8 ties before Naperville Central took the lead for good at 17-16 on a kill by Prazak.
Four kills down the stretch by Burton helped the Redhawks build to the final margin.
In Game 2 the Redhawks led most of the way until the Warriors passed them at 17-16.
The teams exchanged the leads three more times until kills by Burton and Matt Skowronski helped the Redhawks to match point.
Skowronski added 7 kills, while Alex Bryk led the Redhawks in digs with 7.
Burton praised the Willowbrook players for their ability and their defensive effort.
"They don't let a lot die," Burton said. "They just don't stop. It makes it difficult against a team that plays a high-intensity game and just doesn't give up. We made a lot of errors, but we kept our confidence at the end."
"Willowbrook was keeping the ball alive," Strausburger added. "But they made some errors down the stretch that helped us out with late points."
Ryan Wakely led the Warriors with 9 kills and Tommy King had 17 assists. Anthony Acitelli was the dig leader with 14.
"Naperville Central is an all-around solid team," said Wllowbrook coach Ryan Bazon. "Burton is great and their setter was fantastic. But sometimes we make mental mistakes and shoot ourselves in the foot. Generally, we did a good job of recovering and fighting back, but it's those small points that win or lose you a game. But our kids fight all the time and I'm proud of them for that."