Boys volleyball: WW South holds off Wheaton North, still perfect in DuKane
Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North are natural rivals in everything. With both boys volleyball teams having great seasons so far, the teams’ DuKane Conference meeting Tuesday at Wheaton Warrenville South figured to have big ramifications for the rest of their respective seasons.
In the end, the day belonged to the Tigers, 25-17, 25-23. The Falcons rallied late in the second set, scoring three consecutive points with senior outside hitter Jake Schreiner serving.
Needing one more point to tie at 24-24, a Falcons block on what turned out to be the final rally of the match was called in the Tigers’ favor, much to the chagrin of the Falcons fans in attendance.
The Tigers (18-4, 4-0) pulled away in the first set by scoring four consecutive points with senior middle hitter Trevor Paige serving. They also got two straight points during that set on serves from senior libero Joseph Kohley (11 digs) and senior setter Joseph Kelly (24 assists).
“We know what our strengths are,” Tigers coach Bill Schreier said. “We know that we're a good ball-control team. We're pretty solid defensively. First contacts are gonna be in our favor. But we just gotta keep our composure, and when the opportunity presents itself, we have to take advantage of it, and I thought that we did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
The second set proved to be closer, but the Falcons (18-6, 2-1) never truly gained control of the match. By the time they hit their stride, the Tigers already were closing in on match point.
“We had different guys at different times kind of play their best,” Falcons coach John Noe IV said. “But we felt the team hadn't until my final timeout, we're down, 17-21, and we said, 'This is it. Our backs are against the wall. It's now or never.' And finally, at that moment, we all started to play our best. Just too little, too late.”
Sophomore outside hitter Simon Bratt led the Tigers with 11 kills, and junior outside hitter Mergen Purevsuren was close behind with eight. Even though Bratt is the only sophomore on the team, the importance of the moment wasn’t lost on him.
“It's crosstown rivalry, right?” Bratt said. “And I knew this game was a lot more prominent than many others we've faced. We've lost to this team in the past, and my team just wanted to beat this team, so we were just locked in all the way. And I guess throughout the game, I was just focused.”
Jake Schreiner paced the Falcons with 11 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Aidan Syswerda collected six. Senior setter Htat Naing had 21 assists, and senior libero Jonathan Delacruz collected seven digs.