Boys volleyball: St. Charles East rallies for hard-fought win over its rival
Maintaining a high level of energy throughout the match, St. Charles East downed St. Charles North in three sets — 21-25, 25-22, 25-16 — Tuesday to keep town bragging rights on the Saints’ side of the Fox River.
“I felt like our effort was there throughout the entire match. We were trying to make the hustle plays. That was one of our keys. We just wanted to win the 50-50 balls and not let balls hit the ground,” St. Charles East coach Matt Caputo said about the DuKane Conference contest. “I thought our defense played fantastic. They were scrappy and gave our offense second opportunities.”
The North Stars jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first set, but the Saints rallied to tie the score at 6. After a Nolan Wallace spike (five kills) put his team up 8-7, North never trailed. East tied the contest again at 12-12 on an Anthony Sylvester smash, but North (17-6, 1-2) regained the lead and gradually pulled away. One of Cooper Meadows’ team-high eight kills scored match point.
Dropping the first set on their home court did not deter the Saints.
“The key to the win was keeping up that aggression. We were swinging hard at the beginning, and we were getting stuffed down,” said East’s Zack Heilers, who tallied a match-high 12 kills. “But we kept swinging and we found those openings at the end, which really led us to victory.”
North scored the first point in the second set on an East (15-8, 2-2) hitting error. The Saints quickly tied the score and maintained a comfortable lead until the very end of the set when the North Stars rallied. North pulled within two points, 24-22, on a Brennan Haan kill. A North serving error on the next rally clinched the second set for the Saints.
East’s ability to remain focused on its side of the court was another factor according to Joshua Trentham (seven kills).
“I would say one of the keys to our win was playing the game that we wanted to play. The big thing about volleyball is making sure you don't worry about what they're doing on their side of the court,” the St. Charles East senior said. “You have got to worry about your side first. It's all about what you do, making sure your guys are playing the game that you can play.”
Both sides struggled on the serving line at the start of the third set. Four of the first six points were scored on service errors. After a 1-1 tie, East stayed in front until North knotted the score at 12. East regained the lead on another Sylvester kill. After North pulled within 15-13, the Saints went on a 10-3 run to close out the final set.
North struggled at the service line.
“After the first set, we couldn't control our serve,” North coach Jamie Buhnerkemper said. “Which let East control the match.”
Heilers also totaled 17 assists and nine digs. Keegan Suessen tallied 12 digs.