Boys volleyball: Warren’s firepower too much for Carmel

Posted April 14, 2026 9:15 pm

By John Bumbales

Host Carmel Catholic had its hands full when the Corsairs faced Warren in nonconference boys volleyball action Tuesday night in Mundelein.

The Blue Devils (7-2) built a commanding 23-12 lead on a kill by Andrew Cowell in the first set before going on to post a 25-17 victory. Carmel (4-7) played Warren much tougher in the second set as it held a 15-12 lead.

But the Blue Devils slowly regained the momentum as another kill by Cowell put the finishing touches on a 25-21 victory to win the match.

An ace by Cowell and a kill by sophomore Josh Bicket broke up a 16-16 deadlock in the second set to give Warren the lead for good at 18-16. Then a kill by Micah Panagiotopoulos boosted the lead to 22-18 before a perfectly timed dink shot by senior Matt Zambrano made the score 24-20.

"Edward Chand was out sick today, and he was our all-tournament middle this weekend at our tournament so he's a strong player," said Warren coach Kim Paasch. "No. 16 (Zambrano) stepped in for No. 6 (Chand), and he did well with some kills and he blocked well."

The Corsairs fell behind 7-3 in the opening set before the Blue Devils extended their lead to 18-10 on a service point by senior Joel Paasch. Sophomore Kyle Paasch added 3 service points for a 23-12 lead before a kill by senior Will Reimholz made the score 24-16.

"The key so far this year I think has been Josh (Bicket), he's been playing phenomenal on the outside and he's a kid that doesn't play club because he plays basketball," said Joel Paasch, who was an honorable mention all-state setter last year. "Andrew (Cowell) has been really good for us, he's a really good player and he's got some Division I interest. We have a really good passing team, and we were missing a middle today (Chand) which didn't help so losing him was tough."

Carmel was led by senior J.M. Ratliff and sophomore Kristian Chadick with 3 kills apiece. Senior Rylan Franada had 7 assists for the Corsairs while senior Ryan Farlee added 4 assists.

"Warren's got a ton of firepower and they are really good across the board," said Carmel coach Kevin Nylen, whose team led 14-11 on an ace by Farlee in the second set. "We weren't able to match that firepower and that intensity. But we're blessed to have good leadership and a lot of seniors who are able to bounce back."