Lake Park warms up for break with win over Willowbrook
The Lake Park boys volleyball team is now in its biggest break of the season. It’s a time for the Lancers to take a look at what has transpired and what lies ahead for the remainder of the season.
And they got the break started on a positive note.
Lake Park dispatched Willowbrook 25-18, 16-25 and 25-18 Thursday night in Roselle and won’t see action until April 14 when they host Geneva in a return to Upstate Eight Conference play.
“We’re trying to get better on a daily basis,” coach Brad Baker, whose team improved to 11-2 overall, said. “Our guys have seen us play great stretches. I’m happy where we are at it. But we’ll work on the little things and try to get better.”
The Lancers sandwiched victories in Games 1 and 3 around a flat performance in the middle contest. In the two winning games Lake Park got well-timed bursts of offense to take control and keep it against a very solid Warriors squad that dropped to 2-2.
In the deciding game Willowbrook jumped out to a 6-3 lead. Later, the Lancers took a 12-11 advantage and a 5-1 run put them up 19-14 and their lead stayed comfortable the rest of the way.
The opening game presented essentially the same scenario. Willowbrook and Lake Park exchanged the lead until the Warriors sent a volley out of bounds that tied the game at 10. Lake Park then went on a 4-0 run that included a kill by Jeremy Mark to make it 14-10 Lancers.
The Lancers led by as much as six until the very end, and the Warriors did cut the lead once to two points and once to three, but it was evident that Lake Park was in control.
Baker said that he had a different lineup for Thursday’s match to allow some players to heal from some bumps and bruises, and time was needed to adjust.
“By the third game, they were starting to jell,” he said.
Trace Szczygiel led the Lake Park attack with 12 kills and seven digs. Eddie Keesecker had seven kills and Matt Ciaglia had five kills and five blocks.
The highlight for Willowbrook on the night was Game 2 where it jumped out to a 10-3 advantage, fought off a challenge from Lake Park midway through the match and later go on an 8-2 run to put the victory on cruise control.
Coach Diane Vegter said that was the type of performance the Warriors will need when they compete beginning today in the Warren Blue Devil Invite in Gurnee.
“It’s a big tournament and I thought that (Game 2) was a good lead-in,” she said. The tournament includes Maine South, which finished third in state last season, and New Trier. Willowbrook is in a division with Deerfield, Andrew and Prospect.
Leading the Warriors’ attack was Billy Iacono with 10 kills. Nick Simons had five kills and two blocks and Jake Bles had five kills.
Overall, Vegter thought her team played well except for brief lapses.
“On a couple of stretches, we didn’t close the block or choose the right set. Our defense is good. Our blocking needs work. But we’re coming along,” she said.