Boys volleyball: Freshman Vincent powers Schaumburg past Fremd
After winning the first set, the Schaumburg boys volleyball team has had a tendency of letting down in the second set during the early stages of the 2026 season.
But after winning the first set 25-18 over host Fremd Tuesday night, the Saxons did not let up as they posted another 25-18 victory in the second set to win this Mid-Suburban League West Division opening match for both teams.
Schaumburg (2-2, 1-0) was led by 6-foot-6 freshman phenom Frankie Vincent from start to finish as he recorded a game-high 12 kills, including the final kill of the match to seal the impressive win.
The Vikings (2-3, 0-1) only trailed 16-14 in the first set. But a kill by Vincent and a service point by Rishabh Shah capped a 4-point run to make the score 20-14.
Two service points by Fremd's Fred Worst (2 blocks) capped a 3-point run to cut the lead to 20-17. But the Saxons went on a 5-1 run as a kill by junior Ryden Mollison ended the first set.
"Our goal today was to keep that intensity up in the second set and get the win," said Schaumburg coach Cory Griffin. "He (Vincent) is a great kid, he's very humble, he works super hard, and he's adjusting well to the high school life working well with older kids."
Schaumburg built a commanding 13-4 lead in the second set as 4 service points and an ace by Vincent helped stake his squad to that fast start. Junior Aaron Shogren had a big match for the Saxons with 15 assists while teammate Alexander Noga had 3 kills. Schaumburg's Charlie Mounts had 3 aces.
"We just stayed engaged, stayed active, and kept high energy the whole match whether we won or lost points," said Vincent, who is on the USA under-17 national volleyball team. "I feel like just getting better each and every day is our goal; win or lose just trying to leave every game with some knowledge and getting extra reps."
Fremd tried to put together a late rally in the second set as a kill by Kaden Liao cut the lead to 22-18. But Schaumburg scored the final three points of the match, including 2 kills by Vincent and 2 service points by Mollison.
Fremd was led by Aarav Parikh (9 assists, 2 blocks) and Liao with 5 kills each. Chase Hinojosa had 4 kills for the Vikings while teammate David Otgonbat had 8 assists. Jonathan Kim and George Sallade had 7 and 6 digs, respectively, for the Vikes.
"In the first set they controlled the ball and we didn't, and in the second set we were playing down and they capitalized on it," said Fremd coach Tracy Harding. "He (Vincent) is very hard to contain, and he's a great player. You know we had to score points when he (Vincent) was in the back row and we didn't do that today."