Boys volleyball: Lake Park's strong start not enough to dethrone Marist
Lake Park’s Carter Gibbons breathed to center himself. Standing alone at the back line amid thunderous cheering from Lancers fans on his left, the senior exhaled all distraction.
His right arm did the rest of the work, rifling an ace to extend his team’s lead to six points. Gibbons’ next serve sailed out of bounds, but the four-year varsity player didn’t show frustration.
Amid an up-and-down season, Lake Park remained confident, knowing it had every right to be in the state quarterfinals against powerhouse Marist. The Lancers (28-12) proved they belonged with a victory in the first set, but dropped the next two against the Redhawks (38-2), who will play in the semifinals Saturday on their quest for a second consecutive state title after their 17-25, 25-14, 25-21 victory.
“We earned the right to be here,” Lake Park coach Brian Fischer said. “I made sure that these guys knew it wasn’t a fluke and that they should be super proud.”
The Lancers opened the first set with a 10-3 run, highlighted by three points from Gibbons, who led the squad with 16.5. Junior Nolan Cocat opened the run with a kill and finished second to Gibbons with five. The Redhawks made it a five-point game with a block from Christian Teresi, but that was as close as Marist would get in the set. Gibbons’ ace put Lake Park ahead, 17-11, and the Lancers cruised from there.
“We already knew they were very streaky,” Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said of Lake Park. “They get on some hot streaks, and we saw that in the match. I thought we needed a couple more of our style of plays, then you could settle into the game.”
Marist, losers of only four games over the last two years, reverted back to its dominance in the second set. Devlin Biggs and Tommy Doherty each scored as the Redhawks surged to a 6-2 advantage, which later ballooned to 17-9 off an ace from Teresi. Teammate Nathen Toth’s kill brought the lead to double digits.
“We made a lot of our own errors on our side,” Gibbons said. “We let off the gas a little bit, but [Marist] was also playing very well.”
The Redhawks held a 17-12 lead in the third set, but the Lancers stormed back to cut the lead to 19-18. A service error from Marist gave the ball back to Lake Park, down 24-21, but Biggs’ kill quelled a potential upset.
Gibbons led Lake Park with 15 kills, followed by senior Mike Ogorzalek with six and Cocat with five. Freshman Jake Ellenbecker topped the team with 14 assists while Luke Bonacci led with 12 digs.
For seniors like Gibbons, a four-year varsity player, returning to the state tournament for the first time since 2021 was certainly a triumph, but so was the lasting impact for him and the rest of the senior class.
“I definitely saw it a lot on the court and a lot in the locker room," Gibbons said. “Just a lot of love and brotherhood from the other guys, knowing that our presence is going to be missed. It makes me feel good, feel accomplished.”