Boys volleyball: Mundelein downs Antioch
Hitting in volleyball is generally reserved for tall players.
Mundelen's Eric Morales doesn't fit the profile.
"I'm 5-foot-9 on a good day,'' Morales said.
What's obvious is that Morales has been injected with a great case of the hops.
On a night that advocated for pediatric cancer research, Morales and the Mustangs (10-16) took down visiting Antioch, 25-20, 25-15.
"I started playing volleyball with friends,'' Morales explained. "By seventh grade, I decided to stick with it."
The first set was close the whole way.
With Morales serving in set one, an ace and a Ricky Osornio kill opened a 10-8 lead.
Antioch (4-14) answered back. With a block and a kill from Joey Whittall, the Sequoits pulled ahead.
"He's a three-varsity starter,'' said Antioch coach, Jaime Atkinson of Whittall. "He's a phenomenal volleyball player and person."
This set was knotted at 18-18.
Mundelein closed the first set with Morales back at the serving line.
Andrew Gibbons put one down as did Morales. Both players notched 5 kills in the two sets.
Mark Rey (6 kills), who will play next season at Marian University in Wisconsin, felt the Mustangs didn't have a great start on Friday night.
"We were kind of sluggish in that first set,'' Rey noted. "We had a hard time connecting."
Mundelein coach George Dressen admitted his team is not known for great starts.
"We have an issue with starting out slowly,'' Dressen said. "And give Antioch credit. They had a little different tempo tonight."
On a Rey kill, the second set was all Mundelein. It was 11-3. Morales was again serving as Gibbons, Osornio and Tyler Vander Ploeg put balls away. It was 20-8 when Dressen cleared his bench.
Whittall led Antioch with 8 kills and 3 blocks. Teammate Josh Lahti added 6 kills and 4 blocks.
Osornio and Rey led the Mustangs with 4 blocks.
•Each year, nearly 16,000 children (0-19) are diagnosed with cancer. That number in Chicagoland is 400. Each day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer. One in five children will die in five years.