Geneva rallies late for wild 3-set win over Bartlett
After losing 25-23 in the third set of two gut-wrenching matches at last weekend's season-opening Plainfield North boys volleyball invitational, Geneva faced another third-set test in its home debut on Tuesday.
But this time the Vikings made sure the third set was a charm. The hosts rallied from a 23-21 deficit, winning the final four points to defeat Bartlett 21-25, 25-22, 25-23 in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover clash at Mack Olson Gym.
The victory evened Geneva's record at 2-2 and provided a timely confidence boost for the Vikings heading into this weekend's West Aurora Invitational.
Geneva's comeback began with a Bartlett hitting error. David Franz then delivered a service ace to tie the set at 23-23, and 6-foot-4 sophomore middle blocker Jon Bishop gave Geneva the lead for good with a kill off a quick set at middle front. The match ended on another Bartlett hitting error, sparking an enthusiastic celebration among the Vikings' players, and a sigh of relief.
"We had just been in this situation last weekend, losing 25-23 in the third set of two matches, so it wasn't new to us, and we knew what we had to do to finish the match," junior middle hitter Sam Wulfkuhle said. "Guys really stepped up. We really wanted it, especially being on our home court for the first time this season."
While Geneva celebrated, the visiting Hawks (0-2) swallowed a difficult loss after leading 21-19, 22-20 and 23-21 in the decisive set. A series of unforced passing and hitting errors proved to be Bartlett's undoing.
"So far our toughest opponent has been us," Hawks coach Bob Schwantz said. "We are just making too many errors right now. In boys volleyball, the season is too short to have time to clean these up quickly. If you're going to start to work out these errors in the limited time you have, it's going to be hard to make it happen."
Tuesday's match remained perilously close from start to finish. Neither team led by more than four points at any juncture, and the lead changed hands eight times in the first set alone. Trailing 20-19, Bartlett ripped off six of the next seven points to win the opening set behind a tip kill from Jake Martin, a right-side kill from Chris Dungey and Martin's block kill to close out the set.
"In the first set we made a lot of hitting errors," Geneva coach KC Johnsen said. "We cut down on those errors the next two sets and played more consistently."
The Vikings and Hawks continued swapping leads in the second set before Geneva broke a 21-21 stalemate thanks to a series of Bartlett mistakes. The Hawks gave the Vikes their last four points of the set behind two passing errors, a spike that sailed out of bounds and a net violation on set point.
Geneva put itself in position to even the match thanks largely to Wulfkuhle's stellar play at the net. The junior, who cracked the varsity starting lineup this spring after spending last season on the JV squad, pounded home 14 kills, mostly off quick sets in the middle, and delivered four blocks to give Geneva a much-needed net presence against Bartlett senior outside hitter Mike Gulczynski.
The Hawks' standout, who earned a volleyball scholarship to Loyola University of Chicago, registered a match-high 15 kills and two aces. But Geneva was able to keep numerous points alive due to its back-row trio of senior libero Brandon Navigato (15 digs), junior defensive specialist Ethan Roesch (nine digs) and junior right-side hitter Luke Will (nine digs).
"Brandon was exceptional, especially in serve receive," Johnsen said. "He, Ethan and Luke did a great job. Mike is a really strong player. He does a good job of carrying their team, though he got some help from the other hitters, too. He's a very good leader for Bartlett."
Bartlett's next match on Thursday against IMSA will hold special meaning for Gulczynski. The Hawks will hold a pregame ceremony to retire his jersey number in honor of Gulczynski's older brother, Lenny. A 2007 Bartlett graduate and former Hawks volleyball standout, Lenny died serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Both brothers wore No. 15 at Bartlett.
"Mike's excited about it," Schwantz said. "We're going to have the color guard at the match, and many of Lenny's former teammates will be there. It's a dual retirement. Once Mike graduates, the No. 15 jersey will be gone from the program."