After a battle, Deerfield closes out Barrington

They say it’s tough to beat the same team three times in one season.

Boy, didn’t Deerfield almost become Exhibit A.

The No. 2 Warriors rolled Barrington twice during the regular season, but needed three games and a couple of extra volleys in game 3 to get a 25-15, 22-25, 26-24 victory over the Broncos in the Antioch sectional semifinal.

Deerfield, which improves to 31-6, will take on Vernon Hills at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Antioch sectional final. Third-seeded Barrington closes out its season with a 28-9 record.

“Our coach talked to us about it being tough to beat a team three times but that it wouldn’t matter if we just went out there and played our game,” said Deerfield outside hitter Zach Hara, who rolled up a match-high 17 kills, including the match-winner. “It was such a team effort.

“We came out with a ton of intensity in the first game and lost it a little bit when we got down in the second. But we came back and fought and pulled one off.”

There were six ties in the third game from 17-17 on. Both Hara and John Harlan came up with kills for the Warriors that helped swing the momentum in their favor. Harlan finished with 16 kills.

“We relied a lot on our outside hitters,” Deerfield coach Eugene Chung said. “We didn’t pass the ball really well, which is why we couldn’t use our middles as much, and we ended up becoming predictable going outside so much. But those guys (Hara and Harlan) did a great job making plays for us.”

Senior hitter Charlie Spry made plays for Barrington all over the floor. He led the Broncos with 8 kills, 4 blocks, 16 digs and 1 ace.

Spry’s big block late in game three tied the score at 20-20, but Barrington couldn’t hold on to the momentum.

“This is tough, but it’s the best we’ve played this season against Deerfield,” Spry said. “It hurts, but we definitely stepped it up and I’m really proud. Even in the third game, it was right there. We just come up short.”

Setter Tommy Soifer rolled up 18 assists for Barrington while Kevin Eiring added 6 kills and Ben Karon finished with 16 digs.

“After getting rolled in that first game, our guys showed a lot of heart to win that second game and get back in the match,” Barrington coach Rob Ridenour said. “(Deerfield) made just one extra play.”