Boys volleyball: St. Charles East handles Bartlett
St. Charles East setter Jake Lauger knows he isn't supposed to kick the volleyball, but his soccer instincts took over on a particular play during the Saints' 25-15, 25-16 Upstate Eight win at Bartlett Tuesday.
When a Bartlett spike sent the ball careening off one of Laugher's teammates toward the sideline, the 6-foot, 165-pound senior raced after it and returned it toward his team by kicking the ball backward over his head.
"I'm not supposed to do that," said a smiling Laugher, who played soccer his freshman year.
"It's not encouraged," St. Charles East coach Kate McCullagh said of the play. "Legal, but not encouraged."
" I probably could have dove and got it with both hands," Lauger added, "but that was my first instinct so why not?"
Though the Saints went on to lose that particular point, Lauger's anything-goes effort epitomized St. Charles East's approach in a win that improved its record to 18-9 overall, 6-3 in UEC play.
Laugher finished with 20 assists. Senior outside hitter Michael Carbonell led the Saints with 9 kills while junior Nick Cayton balanced the attack with 6 kills from the right side.
"We spread the ball around really well," said Carbonell, who hit one spike so hard it nailed a Bartlett back-row defender in the face before he could react. "We always have three great options in the front row and our setter does a great job spreading the ball around to keep blockers honest on the other side."
Bartlett (10-18, 1-8) trailed 9-8 in the first set until St. Charles East used an 11-2 run to take command. One of the only 2 points the Hawks won during that stretch was the rally in which Lauger kicked the ball. Bartlett junior setter Omar Owda eventually finished that point with a kill. Junior Christopher Foerstel punctuated the set win with an ace.
The Saints jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second set and never looked back. They led 10-4 after a big block from senior middle Jason Turnbull, 21-12 after a kill from 6-5 junior Domenic Sciortino and they won match point when Lauger set Carbonell for a spike the Bartlett defense couldn't return.
The Hawks struggled throughout with serve receive and passing, which undermined Owda's ability to set his teammates. He finished with 10 assists. Senior Nick Arco (6-foot-4) led Bartlett with 8 kills while 6-3 junior captain Justin Hayes added 2 kills and 2 aces.
"Our serve receive was very bad and they kind of picked on our bad defense," Hayes said. "Our bad defense caused our setting not to be there. We're a very offensive team and we hit the ball very well, but we have to get the ball up to the front first."