Boys volleyball: Barrington nabs tournament championship
The five teams that faced Barrington's boys volleyball squad in this weekend's tournament which it co-hosted with Vernon Hills faced an imposing unit that features a quintet that each stand at over 6-foot-3.
Led by 6-8 sophomore Cole Hardtke and 6-4 seniors Jack O'Riordan and Caleb Rohlwing and complemented by a 6-3 pair in senior Alex Zastawny and fellow junior Quinn Kodak, the Broncos successfully conducted a preview of what their opponents will view this season in going undefeated en route to taking top honors Saturday afternoon at Vernon Hills, defeating the co-host Cougars (2-1) in front of a standing-room-only crowd on the main court of play.
"It's an intimidating lineup," first-year Broncos coach Charlie Spry said. "The good thing is that they're putting it together as a group right now and hopefully we can continue to do that and just keep getting better each day as far as a group. Intimidating as individuals, but we want to be the group that puts it all together."
"Even with our size we're pretty scrappy and we go after everything," Hardtke added.
Barrington (5-0) picked up where it left off on its home floor with a 2-0 triumph over Warren (25-13, 25-20) Saturday morning to complete its pool undefeated. It then proceeded to a second 2-0 win over defending state champion Glenbrook North (25-17, 25-21) ending the Spartans' 28-game win streak dating back to last year.
The Broncos then moved on to face Vernon Hills in the finals. The Cougars, an Elite Eight qualifier a season ago, bested Sandburg 2-0 in wins of 26-24 and 25-22 in their semifinal match. They would rebound from a 25-19 game-one defeat to the Broncos by using a 7-2 run in game two that allowed them to break free from a 13-13 tie, which led them to a 25-21 victory, forcing the rubber match for top team honors.
Barrington would take a cue from that loss as it pulled away from a tight contest with key kills from Rohlwing and O'Riordan plus a Hardtke ace which set the stage for procuring the game's last two points on sideouts for a 25-20 final score.
O'Riordan's 12 kills and 2 aces followed Hardtke's 11 combined with 2 aces and a pair of assists paced the Broncos, followed by 8 assists from junior setter Carsten Weigh (2 kills, 2 aces). Vernon Hills (5-2) was led by junior middle hitter David Rzepa's 5 kill- 2 block effort followed by senior setter Erik Giezycki's 4 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces.
Cougars coach Chris Curry championed his team's performance.
"We're very excited to have gotten into the top pool because given what we've done this week and trying to find a lineup and put new pieces out there it was nice that this group of kids thought it's doesn't matter who's here and not here this is what we got and let's get out there and play free and easy and win some matches," Curry said.