Glenbard East hoping this can be magical year

Two years ago Glenbard East defeated Lyons Twp. in the sectional finals and went on to claim the school's first boys volleyball trophy.

The Rams are hoping for some more of that magic in 2008 after the Rams swept Lyons Twp. 25-17, 25-19 to claim the Willowbrook sectional crown Tuesday night and advance to a state quartrerfinal berth against Neuqua Valley, which already has fallen to the DuPage Valley Conference power this spring.

"Willowbrook's a home away from home for us," Rams coach Marci Maier said. "It's the third year in a row we've had the sectional here. We got a little separation in the first game and we kept the momentum."

Glenbard East (36-3) took the Lions (30-7) out of their game with a big block, scrappy defense and a solid, balanced attack on offense. Outside hitter Tim Lovik led a balanced offense with 10 kills, but the massive trio of 6-foot-6 Peter Dabrowski and 6-5 Dan Mader and Mark Jones proved just too much for Lyons Twp. to handle.

"Tim did a nice job on the outside, Peter was huge at the net and as a whole we executed very well this evening," Maier said.

Lions coach Joann Pyritz didn't feel her team played at its best Tuesday, but she credited the Rams -- third in the state in 2006 -- with causing some of her squad's problems.

"We certainly didn't play our best, which is disappointing, but we lost to a quality team," she said. "It just didn't seem like we got it together tonight for more than a few points."

Lovik had a hard time singling out one aspect of his team's play that had the biggest impact, but he knows first hand just how tough his team's blocking can be on opponents.

"Our defense and passing was great tonight," he said. "And we put up a big block on the outside, which helped a lot. Jones and Mader are both 6-5 and have great verticals … then you have Peter. … I hate hitting to that block in practice."

The Lions led 6-4 following a kill by Justas Pagojus in the opener, but the Rams used a 5-1 run to retake the lead and never relinquished it while claiming the game 25-17 after Jones set up Mader for a powerful slam.

In Game 2 Lyons Twp. used an ace from Kevin Smuda to cap a 4-point swing that tied the score at 10-10. But the Rams completed the sweep with a 15-9 edge down the stretch and ended the match fittingly with a block kill from Dabrowski.

"We wanted to come out strong and confident and set the pace," said Mader, who played on the Rams' trophy-winning team two years ago and helped prepare the squad for the Lions. "It can be frustrating when the things you are used to doing aren't working."

Lyons Twp. found that out the hard way, while the Rams plan to keep their things working downstate later this week.