Boys volleyball: Barrington battles but can’t take down top-seeded Loyola
After winning the Deerfield regional on Thursday, No. 5-seeded Barrington was looking to keep that momentum going against top-seeded Loyola Academy Saturday afternoon at the Vernon Hills boys volleyball sectional semifinals.
The Broncos did get off to a great start in the first set as they took the Ramblers down to the wire only to drop a close 25-23 decision. Loyola outscored Barrington (24-14) 4-2 down the stretch.
The Ramblers (36-2) fell behind 11-7 in the second set, but they went on an incredible 10-point run to take a 17-11 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-19 victory to win the match.
Loyola will face No. 3 New Trier for the sectional title Tuesday at 6 p.m. after the No. 3-seeded Trevians posted a three-set victory over No. 2 Glenbrook South in the other semifinal match.
The Broncos led 20-18 in the first set on a kill by Oliver Halvey before a great defensive save by the Ramblers forced a 20-20 deadlock. Barrington's Matt Louis (5 kills) had a kill to give the Broncos a brief 21-20 lead. But the Ramblers went on a 4-point run to take a 24-21 lead before a kill by Liam Uruba ended the first set for the 25-23 win.
The second set started off great for Barrington as a kill by senior Cole Hartke (7 kills, 4 digs) staked the Broncos to an 11-7 lead. A kill by Loyola's Jack Lopez (12 kills) gave the Ramblers a sideout before Stef Kins (8 digs) rolled off 9 service points for a sizeable 17-11 lead.
"Our defense really came alive. We started getting big digs, our blocking was disciplined channeled to our diggers behind and the guys did a great job hanging in there," said Loyola coach Lionel Ebeling.
"He (Lopez) had a dominant presence on the court offensively. He hits the ball hard, and I am so proud of him and the other nine seniors. We came here straight from graduation and these guys were mentally locked in."
A block by Barrington cut the lead to 22-17 in the second set, but a kill by Ryan Rickspoone sealed the match for Loyola. Loyola's Stef Kins had a big game with 18 assists while Barrington got 11 assists from Andrian Wu and 10 assists from Carson Skinner. The Broncos got 5 kills and 3 blocks from Gavin Rohlwing.
"Honestly I think we played phenomenal. I think we did everything to the best of our ability, but they're a solid team and if you give them a lead they're going to run with it," said Barrington coach Charlie Spry.
"All three seniors (Hartke, Rohlwing, Wu) played phenomenal all season. They have been absolute leaders of the program, and they'll definitely leave a hole of leadership, but I was really proud of them."
Loyola's defense was fantastic, especially in the second set when they prevented Barrington from going on any significant runs to get within striking distance.
"Stef (Kins) has always been consistent for us. He's steady, and he's always there," said Lopez. "I think our team showed heart, our team just wanted every ball to come back at us. We wanted to dig every ball, and this is the last go for our 10 seniors so we're going to give it everything we have or die trying."