New lineup lifts Addison Trail

Addison Trail coach Tom Hubner juggled his lineup around against a talented Downers Grove South team.

That new lineup, along with some uncharacteristic errors from the opponent, gave the Blazers the spark they needed during a 25-19, 19-25, 25-23 win in a West Suburban Gold contest Tuesday night.

“We changed the lineup around by moving Tom (Connelly) to libero and he really helped us tonight defensively,” Hubner said. “Some of his digs really sparked us.

“We also moved Eric (Bonilla) to the outside and he got some big kills for us as well.”

After a fourth-place finish at Rolling Meadows’ tournament over the weekend, Addison Trail (7-4, 1-1) took advantage of seven hitting errors and five service errors by the Mustangs in Game 1. Senior middle hitter Tom Caputo tallied six of his 12 kills in that span, including the last two points.

Additionally, freshman Alex Dickman and junior Matt Hernet helped lead the Blazers offense.

“Alex, Matt and Tom are kind of our big three offensively and they played great tonight,” Hubner said. “I think we started feeling out whether we could compete with a team like Downers South. Every point gave us a little more confidence, and it showed that we can play with a great team.”

The Mustangs (7-4, 1-1), coming off their second straight Springfest tournament title at Glenbard East, bounced back to capture the victory in Game 2, scoring six of the game’s last seven points.

After an Addison Trail timeout, Downers Grove South, up 19-18, scored the next five points. Kills by Brian Graham and Andy Kryk started the run. Nick Timreck then picked up a block, followed by an Addison Trail hitting error and an ace by David DeMarco.

Timreck tallied the game-winning kill for the Mustangs, sending the match into a deciding game three.

However, Downers Grove South never led in Game 3 but managed to tie it on eight occasions. The Mustangs’ last tied the game at 20-20 off a kill by Kryk.

Following a Downers Grove South hitting error, Caputo and Hernet combined to block Timreck’s attack attempt, giving the Blazers a 22-20 lead.

The teams traded the next five points before Downers Grove South hit a serve into the net to give Addison Trail the victory.

“Downers Grove South is a great team, and by beating them it shows that we can go far this season,” Caputo said. “This is a big momentum boost.”