Wheeling’s about-face continues

What a difference a little over two weeks has made for the Wheeling boys volleyball team.

Not that long ago the Wildcats were trying to claw their way back from a disappointing 8-18 start.

Now they’ve won 8 in a row, including an opening match playoff victory.

Led by senior Brandon Yacu, who was 21-of-21 from the service line including 6 aces, Wheeling defeated Chicago Amundsen 25-6, 25-9 in the first round of their own hosted regional.

The Wildcats play No. 1 sectional seed New Trier in a semifinal match at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

“We came out with a businesslike attitude tonight,” said Yacu, a senior outside hitter. “We know at this point it’s lose and you’re out, and none of us want to go home.”

Wheeling’s turnaround began May 5 at the Leyden Invitational, where the Wildcats won all 5 matches to start their winning streak and claim the tourney title.

“We’ve had some growing pains,” said Wheeling (16-18) coach Jason Kopkowski, “and at the Leyden tournament, we were without some guys. We made some adjustments and that highlighted some strengths that we didn’t know we had before.”

The Wildcats hit 11 aces on the night, with Sean Chechang and Kevin Leska serving 2 apiece, and Jacob Del Toro recording one.

Leska, a 6-foot-5 senior middle, also led the Wheeling attack with 6 kills.

“Midway through the season, we knew we weren’t playing our best,” said Leska. “We hit our stride at Leyden, and in practice we started to do the little things that you need to do to win.”

Outside hitter Zack Nauert added 5 kills for the Cats, whil middle Brandon Fox had 5 digs.

“Lately we had a lot of confidence,” said Yacu. Our back row has been passing the ball phenomenally, and our coach has been letting us play and fight through adversity. He’s been putting his trust in us and we’re not letting him down.”