Hersey turns back Lake Zurich's challenge

Host Lake Zurich presented a major challenge to Hersey in the opening game of their boys volleyball match Monday night.

But after pulling out a narrow 25-22 victory in that first game, the Huskies found their groove as they built a commanding 10-1 lead in the second game on the way to a 25-17 win and a two-game nonconference victory over the Bears.

Hersey (6-8) relied on the offensive firepower of seniors Brandon Klein (7 kills) and Paul Kolesar (7 kills) while junior teammate David Mullen-Muhr had 5 kills for the Huskies.

The serving of Hersey's Brian Jamnik (6-for-8, 3 aces) staked the Huskies to a 9-4 lead in Game 1, but Lake Zurich (1-9) hung tough with a service point by junior Tim Riendeau, cutting the lead to 22-20 late in the opener.

Hersey held on for the victory as Klein made a great save over his back to keep the play alive before a block by Mullen-Muhr sealed the 25-22 victory.

Lake Zurich had no answer to the serving of Matt Cayton (12-for-12) in the second game as 6 points by Cayton gave Hersey a quick 7-0 lead which put the Bears behind the eight ball for the rest of the match.

"We didn't have very much energy in the first game, but in the second game we kept up our energy and it helped us play better," said Klein. "That kind of set the tone for the whole (second) game and we kept the momentum going."

Two kills by Lake Zurich's Tom Doherty helped the Bears get gradually back into Game 2 as they cut the gap to 24-17 on 2 service points by Jeff Steinberg (7-for-7, 2 aces).

But the match would end - appropriately enough - on a spike by Klein. Cayton had an outstanding night setting as he was 46-for-46 with 20 assists. Lake Zurich setter Tim Riendeau had 12 assists.

"I think we made a lot of hitting errors in Game 1 and we started playing a lot smarter in Game 2," said Hersey coach Jodi Blazek. "No. 14 (Kolesar) was kind of on fire in game 2 and Brandon (Klein) has been awesome all year."

The Bears' young squad got 3 blocks from Dalton Grambo, but for the most part they were on their heels throughout the second game.

"We're still kind of working on our team communication and they're getting used to their new partners on the court," said Lake Zurich coach Lesly Ravenscraft. "They (Hersey) were able to take advantage of our mistakes and we were not able to do the same."