Boys volleyball: South Elgin reigns as U-46 tournament champion

The main objective for the South Elgin boys volleyball team Saturday was to repeat as U-46 tournament champion.

Mission accomplished.

Posting a perfect 4-0 tournament record, the Storm (5-0 overall) completed the day with a hard-fought 25-22, 24-26, 15-5 victory over host Larkin.

“Our goal was defend our title,” said South Elgin coach Karen Rodriguez. “We lost nine seniors from last year so we are happy to defend our title. We have five kids with experience. This is a fun tournament. It was a competitive tournament. All the teams in the district are getting better.”

Two of the players back from last year are seniors Damian Hernandez (12 kills against Larkin) and Emilio Martinez (8 kills).

“We have a lot of new players,” Hernandez said. “We still had a goal to win the district 46 title and the teams are better this year.”

Said Martinez: “We wanted to defend our title. We have so many rivals in this tournament. It was a good way to start our season.”

Middle blocker Illijia Babic contributed 12 kills for the Storm.

The Storm defeated Bartlett 25-17, 25-18; Streamwood 25-22, 16-25, 15-13; and Elgin 25-22, 22-25, 15-9.

Streamwood and Bartlett both finished 2-2.

The Sabres and Hawks played in the final match of the tourney with Streamwood winning 25-23, 25-20.

After defeating Elgin 25-11, 27-25, the Sabres lost to South Elgin and Larkin.

Alexander Paz led Streamwood (2-3) with 14 kills while Jesse Sanchez collected 8 kills.

“We were down after the two losses,” Paz said. “Being a captain and a four-year starter, I needed to get our guys up and ready to play. We competed in the last match and finished the tournament on a good note.”

Coach Michele Mueller was glad to see her team finish the tournament on a high note.

“We were in a deep hole against Larkin,” Mueller said. “We needed a restart. We finished the tournament on a high note.”

Bartlett, who suffered through a 5-29 season in 2025 season, had a solid tournament.

Mateusz Bartoszewicz led the Hawks (2-3) with 12 kills. Bartlett was 5-29 a year ago.

“Last year was a hard season,” Bartlett said coach Robert Schwantz. “We are determined to have a better season. We have a good group. The U-46 tournament is much better than it has been in the past. There are no pushovers any more.”

Both Elgin and Larkin finished with 1-3 records.