Whipple, Naperville Central beat Huskies
Alex Whipple used to be a quiet guy on the volleyball court, but now his demeanor and his game are both getting a lot noisier.
Whipple put down 13 kills, many of them dramatic momentum-changers, to lead the Redhawks to a 27-25, 20-25, 25-14 win over visiting Naperville North on Thursday.
"I have to be loud and be an example for the team and get them going," Whipple said.
"We're looking for guys who can pick the team up emotionally," said Naperville Central coach Bryan Johnwick. "And Alex has been doing that. We've also been getting that kind of contribution from Alex Povejsil, who has been a nice surprise."
The Redhawks, were forced to regroup early in the year when all-star hitter Dan Dierking went down for the season with a knee injury, forcing Johnwick to juggle the lineup in order to find the right combination.
The victory over the Huskies (14-12, 6-4) was an indication that the Redhawks are improving.
"Things were clicking for us, especially in Game 3," Johnwick said. "Victor Lei is emerging as a team leader, and our team chemistry is starting to build. Dan is still there helping guys out, but as a team we're starting to come together. The guys are starting to believe in themselves."
Even though the Redhawks (15-11, 6-4) came out on the winning end, the match did have its challenges.
They started out slowly trailing for most of Game 1, before tying it up at points 23 and 24 before grabbing their first lead at 26-25 on a kill by Lei, which was followed by a game-winning ace by Alex Grask.
"We got stuck in a rut at the beginning of Game 1," Whipple said. "Sometimes we get down because of mistakes. But when we get over them, we're like a runaway train. We got our run at the end of Game 1."
The Redhawks went right back into that rut in Game 2, which the Huskies controlled from beginning to end.
"We let down," Lei said. "We played as though we thought we won the whole thing. We seem to need the challenge to come back. We have to start thinking that the game is always 0-0 instead of digging a hole."
Ryan Thill had 5 kills and 4 blocks for the Redhawks, Matt Warner added 8 kills, Lei dished out 33 assists and Darren Parker picked up 15 digs.
"Our big thing was defense tonight," Johnwick said. "In Game 3 that led to our communicating and picking up our intensity level. We were touching everything."
Colin Ball led the Huskies with 11 kills, and Shane Witmer smashed 10 kills and 5 digs.
"We still lack a lot of confidence," said Naperville North coach Roger Strausberger. "That's been an issue for us all year. We look around and hope that someone else is going to take control, and a lot of times it's the other team. Naperville Central played hard and aggressive. They outplayed us at the end of Game 1 and in Game 3. We let them take control in Game 3. We were able to take control in Game 2."