Boys volleyball: Schaumburg downs Lake Zurich to win invite after handing Libertyville its first loss
The Palatine/Schaumburg boys volleyball invite was going to be a big test for area squads Saturday afternoon at Palatine High School.
When all was said and done, it was Schaumburg (18-4) that walked away with the championship after a hard-fought 25-15, 17-25, 25-18 victory over Lake Zurich (13-6).
The Saxons defeated Libertyville (14-1) in two sets in the semifinals while the Bears beat Glenbard South (13-6) in two sets in the semifinals.
Lake Zurich led 10-8 in the third set. But it was unable to maintain the momentum as the Saxons pulled away behind strong attacking by junior Charlie Mounts (12 kills), freshman Frankie Vincent (9 kills) and sophomore Payton Alfini (6 kills).
"We've been playing very well as of late, and it was a struggle against Lake Zurich," said Schaumburg coach Cory Griffin. "Our serving did better in the third set, and we adjusted well to their roll shots and power tips."
Lake Zurich was led by senior Viktor Stanojevic with 17 kills, junior Joshua Stephen with 8 kills, and sophomore Will Allen with 6 kills. Yani Oblakov had 33 assists while teammate Koko Stanojevic had 12 digs.
"After the first set we kind of regrouped and we fought," said Lake Zurich coach Brett Stuart. "We just gave up a couple of runs in the third set. But that is probably the best Schaumburg team I've ever seen, and they have the best freshman (Vincent) in the state."
Glenbard South trailed Libertyville 21-17 in the first set before bouncing back for a 26-24 win. The Wildcats won the second set 25-20 before capturing an exciting 26-24 victory in set three to win the match.
Libertyville senior Lukas Slesers had 16 kills, 6 digs, and 5 blocks while teammate Nate Knight had 14 kills and 12 blocks. Senior Jackson Kern had 13 digs and 3 assists for the Wildcats while teammate Andrew Hodge had 32 assists. Connor Desiron added 5 kills for Libertyville.
"We didn't play the way we normally play against Schaumburg, and that was our first loss of the season," said Libertyville coach Jenny Smith. "But I thought our guys responded well against Glenbard South."
The Raiders were led by senior Jackson McCabe with 13 kills while junior teammate Emmett Foster-Simbulan had 7 kills, 3 blocks, and 3 aces. Junior Jonas Ghionzoli had 6 kills for Glenbard South.
"Obviously they're a very strong team, and their middle (Knight) is tough to stop," said Glenbard South coach Chad Grant. "I thought my team competed well though, and this is the best we've played all season."
St. Charles North (16-5) defeated Buffalo Grove 25-18, 25-18 to take fifth place. The North Stars were led by sophomore Alex Kinzle with 8 kills while teammate Nolan Wallace had 7 kills and 4 blocks.
"We've had some injuries, but we were finally able to get back in the rhythm with some kids back today," said St. Charles North coach Jamie Buhnerkemper. "We controlled this last match (against Buffalo Grove), and I think our play was pretty consistent."
"They (St. Charles North) played very clean in all aspects of the game," said Buffalo Grove coach Tim Kosiek. "Mateusz Szydlowski has our most kills on the season and in this tournament so he's our go-to guy."
In the seventh-place match, Hersey (2-3 in tourney) defeated Maine West 25-16 in set 1. But the Warriors (13-6) bounced back with scores of 25-22, and 25-12 in the third set as a kill by Stefan Zaev (5 kills) ended the match.
Senior Luis Alvarez-Perez led Maine West with 9 kills while teammate Brendan Martin had 21 assists. Oscar Boduch was Hersey's top attacker in the tournament.
"In the second and third set we got into a rhythm and played good defense," said Maine West coach Michael OBrill. "That helped generate our offense, and I thought we had some good service runs too."