Boys volleyball: Bratt rallies Wheaton Warrenville South to thrilling win at Lake Park, outright DuKane title

Just when it looked like the unthinkable might happen — that Wheaton Warrenville South would drop two games in two days as it prepares for what it hopes is a deep playoff run — the state’s all-time kills leader put on another mighty show Tuesday night at Lake Park.

Tigers star Simon Bratt, who recently became the all-time leader in both kills and aces for the state of Illinois, willed his Tigers to a late rally and a thrilling 23-25, 25-14, 25-23 victory over the Lancers to finish atop the DuKane Conference standings at 6-0.

The visitors saw a lead slip away in the decisive third set as Lake Park took a 23-21 lead following a kill by Eric Gerber.

But Bratt, who finished with a match-high 21 kills, 13 digs and 5 aces, did all he could to ensure WW South (28-3) pulled out the 3-set win one night after dropping a 3-setter to Lincoln-Way East.

Following a timeout, Bratt slammed down a kill to close the gap to 23-22, then he tied things up by ending an intense rally by pushing a shot into an opening in the center of the Lake Park defense. He then took a pass from Nathan Paige (21 digs) and tipped the ball into another open area for a 24-23 lead.

Bratt, who served the final three points of the match, then rifled off another tough serve and freshman Logan Thornton slammed home the Lancers return of serve for the game-winner.

“Last night we had a rough match with Lincoln-Way East and we lost in 3 and that was a wakeup call. That loss kind of put a fire in (us) to win this game and prove the great team that we are,” said Bratt, who will play at Manhattan University next year. “The first set was a little rocky but these last two sets proved that.”

Lake Park (22-11, 3-2) closed out the first set in impressive fashion, erasing a 17-12 deficit to hand the Tigers their lone set loss in DuKane action this spring.

Noah Cocat, a 6-foot-10 middle hitter headed to Purdue University Ft. Wayne, broke a 21-all tie with a winner, then pounded down the Lancers game-winner in the opening set. He finished with a team-high 16 kills.

The Tigers rebounded with a solid second set and a 25-14 win to even the match. They then looked in good shape in the third set, first taking a 13-7 lead following a Bratt kill and later leading 15-11 and 17-14 only to have the Lancers storm ahead 23-21.

“To be able to able to battle back when we needed it the most to get it to 23-23, and then to be able to continue to build off of that, I thought that was really a good gut check for us moving into this last portion of the season,” Tigers coach Bill Schreier said. “Credit to these guys. Lake Park at 23-21, they’re going to win probably 99 percent of those.”

Bratt was tough all night with his serves and his attacks, but Schreier thinks his leadership this year has also had a big impact. The team starts a freshman at setter in Ryan Sweeney (22 assists against the Lancers), a freshman outside in Thornton, a sophomore middle in Ben Stillwagen, and another sophomore in libero Paige. Despite all that youth, they’ve won 28 of 31 matches with a tough schedule, went unbeaten in the DuKane, and look to be a tough out in the state series.

“I thought that he exerted his will — actually that got established after the first set,” Schreier said of Bratt. “We had discussions last night after the match that coach-led only gets you so far. Player-led gets you a lot farther and he kind of took it to heart.

“Each year has been something exponential that he’s added, but the leadership piece and assuming the mantel that it’s going to come through me, has been a big thing this year. He was pretty energized about things tonight and usually he’s kind of mild mannered.”

Lancers coach Brian Fischer said his team can take some positives away from Tuesday’s match, one of which is the fact that they won’t face a player like Bratt very often.

“Even though we were down in the third set we were able to find a way to fight back against a team like this,” he said. “That’s something that we can take into the playoffs. If we find ourselves in a situation like this there’s no reason to hang our heads too early.”

As for being on the other side of a special performance, Fischer added: “Simon obviously is an extremely special individual. What he does leading a team with that many freshmen and sophomores starting in that lineup, he obviously is the leader they need and he’s performing at an extremely high level.”

Liam Noonan had 6 kills and 3 digs, Thornton added 5 kills and 6 digs, and both Tigers setters ran the offense well with Sweeney recording 22 assists and Matt Burkly 18.

For Lake Park, Jake Ellenbecker recorded 32 assists and Ethan Schnabel backed up Cocat’s big night with 9 kills.

“The energy out there was crazy,” said Cocat. “I loved it. We have a bit of a rivalry with them the last few years. It’s always good to get in the gym with them. From where we started at the beginning of the season to where we are now just gives us a lot of promise.”

While Bratt has accomplished quite a bit already, he is looking to put an exclamation point on his prep career with some hardware.

“It’s a lot of last everythings,” he said of his senior year. “I’m just super happy to be at the point where we are at with our awesome record with these awesome guys. I hope we can go out with a bang. Hopefully a state championship.”