WW South hands Glenbard East its first loss
Wheaton Warrenville South setter Joe Kelly wasn't sure who was going to be across the net for Glenbard East Thursday night, and he really didn't quite care.
All that mattered to the Tigers veteran was that his team came out ready to play against the unbeaten Rams in a battle between the DuPage Valley Conference's top two teams. As it turned out, Glenbard East (25-1, 9-1) was minus a pair of starters who got in some trouble this past week, and the host Tigers did indeed show up with their "A" game in a 25-14, 25-13 victory that leaves them in a first-place tie in the DVC.
"We were disappointed with how things went the last time we played them," Kelly said of his team's three-game loss to the Rams in Lombard. "Tonight speaks for itself. We came out and played."
Kelly, who had 22 assists and 6 digs in the match, said his team was aware that Glenbard East middle blocker Piotr Dabrowski and outside hitter Tim Lovik may have been in line to miss some action but that his team prepared on Wednesday as if they were going to see their rivals at full strength.
"We practiced yesterday like Dabrowski and Lovik were going to be on the court," he said. "We didn't know what the exact deal was."
As it turns out, Rams coach Marci Maier said Lovik will miss seven matches, which means he'll return prior to the state playoffs. Dabrowski, however, is not expected to return to the squad.
"I told my guys it's a great opportunity; it's going to make us stronger," Maier said. "We've been playing 10 of 13 guys all season. It's a matter of me asking them to add to their roles. It's going to take a little bit of time."
With the Tigers picking up a pair of blocks each from Kelly, Rob Samp and Neill Nystrom, the Rams were hard-pressed to mount much of a threat. Nystrom also had 6 kills and Kevin Mueller added 5 kills for WW South.
"I thought we did a very good job as far as our block is concerned," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Bill Schreier said. "We hustled and we had intensity and dove for loose balls and we played with emotion."
Schreier knows the Rams are talented enough to be a force in the postseason even without one of their regulars.
"They're still a dangerous team and that's not going to change," he said.
Glenbard East led 7-6 in Game 1 following a kill by sophomore Nick Eagan and a serve-receive error by the hosts. But the Tigers rattled off 6 straight points for a 12-7 lead and went on to take the game 25-14 with Samp slams recording the final two points.
The Rams fell behind 12-4 and 18-5 in Game 2 and never recovered. Eagan and Mark Jones each finished with 3 kills to place the Rams.
"We learned a lot about ourselves today and we showed a lot of character," Maier said. "We'll be sharper for our next game."