Boys volleyball / state tournament scouting

Boys volleyball / State tournament scouting

When: Today and Saturday

Where: Hoffman Estates High School

Schedule: Quaterfinals today at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.; third place match at 4 p.m.; championship match at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Outlook: Four times, Mid-Suburban League boys volleyball teams have advanced to the state final match. Each time, the MSL school had finished as runners-up.

This year, however, many feel that Barrington has the horses to finally bring the big prize back to the Northwest suburbs.

The Broncos head to today’s Elite Eight, where they’ll face Lake Park at 6 p.m. in a quarterfinal match, with their best team since 2005.

It was just seven years ago that Barrington played in the state title game against Wheaton Warrenville South.

In possibly the most entertaining match in the history of the tourney, the Broncos and Tigers split the first two games and went to 23-all in the deciding set.

But the Tigers broke Barrington’s heart by scoring the final 2 points to claim the crown.

Now the Broncos (33-6) are back again. The MSL champs have a well-rounded, consistent team that boasts standout seniors such as libero Austin Czarnecki, 6-foot-7 middle Tommy Leonard, and setter Taylor Ganzer.

But coach Rob Ridenour has a slew of other weapons as well, including Jeff Hochstein, who Ridenour calls “one of the best outsides in the area.”

“Jeff doesn’t get a lot of attention because of Austin, Tommy and Taylor,” said Ridenour, “but he is having a great year. He plays six rotations at 6-foot-5, and he’s second on our team with 195 kills.”

Another underrated Bronco that Ridenour can count on is junior Charlie Spry, who the coach says was “an offensive force for us all season long.”

Charlie Kingwill, Kevin Eiring, Ryan Sarkar, John Bach, and Peter Van Fossan are also expected to make clutch contributions at Hoffman for the Barrington title run, but first the Broncos will have to defeat Lake Park in the quarters.

The Lancers upset Elk Grove in a sectional final to reach the Elite Eight. It’s Lake Park’s second trip to the state tourney overall and the first since 2004.

At the other end of the spectrum, Wheaton-Warrenville South is back — again. The state’s premier program won six championships between 2001-2009, and finished 2nd in 2010.

Glenbrook North, looking for its second title, comes in as the tourney favorites. Upstarts Chicago Payton and St. Rita could make things interesting with an upset or two.

Minooka and Brother Rice round out the field, but most local fans will be hope that the Broncos, behind Ganzer (668 season assists), Leonard (246 kills, 67 blocks) and Czarnecki (2.54 serve receive score) to make a strong title push.

And look for an exciting, 3-game title match. The last four championship games have all be rather one-sided, two-set affairs, with Sandburg winning last year, Marist in 2010, and the omnipresent Tigers in 2008 and 2009.

— Bill Esbrook