Glenbard West finding its groove

Coming off a fourth-place showing at the state tournament last season, Glenbard West is off to another fast start in 2012.

But coach Christine Giunta-Mayer knows her team hasn’t come close to hitting its peak yet, and the challenging part of the schedule is just beginning.

The Hilltoppers moved to 10-1 on the season, (2-0 in the West Suburban Silver Division) after a 25-13, 25-15 road victory over Hinsdale Central Tuesday, their final tuneup before this weekend’s Smack Attack tournament at Brother Rice.

“We haven’t hit our peak at all. We’re not even close to it,” Giunta-Meyers said. “The back end of our season is much tougher, which is what we wanted. We wanted to start hitting our peak from the middle of the season all the way to the end.”

Tuesday’s contest saw both teams start strong offensively as Glenbard West senior outside hitter Ian Lawson connected on his first four attack attempts while Hinsdale Central’s LJ Booth tallied three of his team’s first five kills.

With Game 1 tied 7-7, Glenbard West went on a 7-1 run to go ahead 14-8 as five of those points came off Red Devils errors.

Lawson picked up two more kills down the stretch while teammate Matt Burelbach tallied a block on an attack by Hinsdale Central’s Peter Thompson, putting the Hilltoppers up 24-13. An attack error by Hinsdale Central’s Joe Morris gave Glenbard West the game point.

“Our blocking has gotten so much better,” Giunta-Meyers said. “We went into this game with the goal of making sure that our first-line defense was taking care of our second-line defense. We did a great job of that.”

Lawson’s timely serving helped his team separate from his opponent in Game 2. Leading 4-3, Lawson went on a stretch where he tallied three aces in four serves, giving the Hilltoppers an 8-3 lead.

“Anytime you get three big points like that, especially aces, those are big changes in momentum,” Lawson said. “It’s a big key to any team’s success.”

Glenbard West continued to extend its lead in the second game as Lawson finished with two of his four blocks in one stretch, including one that put his team up 18-10.

Senior right-side hitter Alex Kahn finished 2-for-2 in attack attempts with both kills resulting in the match’s final two points.

Lawson led the Hilltoppers with 10 kills and four blocks, while libero Mikey O’Dea tallied 8 of his team’s 18 digs. Setter Alex Emanuel led the way with 12 assists.