Boys volleyball / Scouting Northwest

WEST SUBURBAN GOLDLeydenCoach: Matt Figiel

Roster to include: Seniors Moises Merlos,MB/OH; Eric DeLaO, OH, Jacob Lazzarotto, OH; Admir Duratovic, MB. Juniors Alberto Butkus, OH/MB; Steven Marquez, RSH, Adam Wronski, OH/RSH. Sophomores Robert Simian, L/DS; Julius Figueroa, S; Gabe Garcia, DS; Omar Castro, OH/RSH. Freshman Mike Tokyka, S.

Last season: 14-23

Comments: "We're very excited to have Eric DeLaO back with us this season," said Figiel. "For a little guy he plays a big role on our team. He's emerging as one of our best defensive players and is by far our best offensive threat. We're excited to see what he'll accomplish - and every season our goal is to win conference and compete. We don't have a single club player on our roster but I guarantee we will compete with everyone we face."

CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTHMaine WestCoach: Randy Tiller

Roster to include: Seniors Ryan VanWees, S/OPP; Mike Gorski; Peter Tedeschi; Liam Higgins.

Last season: 12-16

Comments: "Our athletes are very quick," said Tiller . "This year's team will emphasize speed. We ended last season in the Maine South tournament with strong performances, and we expect to follow that up this year in the same steps, improving efficiency and speed throughout the season."

EAST SUBURBAN CATHOLICSt. ViatorCoach: Chris Boylan

Roster to include: Seniors Ethan Wolf, OPP; Mike Cieniawa, OH; Mark Tun, L. Junior Ryan Schiller

Last season: 24 wins, most in program history

Comments: "We graduated five starters," said Boylan, "but this team is hungry to surpass last year's marks. The kids have worked hard in the off-season at club and in the weight room, and we look forward to continuing the change in culture at St. Viator."

MID-SUBURBAN EASTBuffalo GroveCoach: Matt Aiello

Roster to include: Seniors Nikita Bulauski, H; Juniors Tullio Ruscitti, L; Kevin Shanahan, H; Alex Franz, H; Athan Cruz, H.

Last season: 20-8, 9th consecutive regional champions

Comments: "These young men are extremely hard working and play with a relentlessness that any coach would love to have," said Aiello. "We are well rounded and have great height. The ceiling for this team is quite high. Defensively, blocking-wise, and serve receive-wise, we are already as consistent as any team that I can remember."

Elk GroveCoach: Dan Windholz

Roster to include: Seniors Sam Ostling, RS; Karl Freidenfelds, L. Juniors Ray Kraus, S; Kevin Wickstrom, OH; Sam Jasutis, MH; Geoffrey Dybicz, MH.

Last season: 21-15, 4-6 MSL East

Comments: "With much of our team returning," said Windholz, "we are looking forward to building upon last season's success."

HerseyCoach: Nancy Lill

Roster to include: Mike Fuerst, MB; Fotis Christacos, L; Bart Migus, OH; Matt Torvik, S; Matt Agular, RSH; Jordan Saeed, M/RSH; Josh Mailloux, MB; Kevin Messer, OH; Alex Mueller, OH; Drew SNelson, DS; George Castro, DS; Angelo Coniglio, OH; Payton Haas, S; Matt Hopkins, MB

Last season: 20-8 overall

Comments: "We have all but one starter back this year," said Lill, "and twelve returning varsity players. We've got a great mix of experienced returnees and younger talented players who are challenging for playing time. Our team is very driven and we have high expectations, but we understand the need for continued hard work and improving the consistency of our game."

ProspectCoach: Mike Riedy

Roster to include: Seniors Jacob Schister, S; Grant Andler, RS; Matt McPartlin, M. Juniors Eryk Krzyzak, OH; Dane Schweinzger, M.

Last season: 16-17 overall, 8-2 in the MSL East.

Comments: "Even though we graduated a number of good players," said Riedy, "we have a few new players ready to fill the void. The addition of Dane (Schweinzger) in the middle will help our attack. Overall I think we have an improved team, but will take our lumps early because of a lack of varsity experience."

Rolling MeadowsCoach: Timothy Piatek

Roster to include: Seniors Tom Srnak, RSH; Pawl Wojcik, OH; AJ Wojcik, OH; Rashard Lee, M. Juniors Enrique Avellaneda, S/RS; Jose Cruz, L; Sophomore Tommy Murphy, OH.

Last season: MSL East champions

Comments: "Last year was a remarkable season for us," said Piatek. "We had a lot of seniors and a lot of hard work went in to capturing the East title. We know that we are going to have to play stellar defense this year and have a balanced attack."

WheelingCoach: Jason Kopkowski

Roster to include: Seniors Marco Castillo, M; Sagar Kapadia, S; Nick Stephani, L; Jeremy Schultz, OH; Alex Kais, OH; Juniors Alex Rybak, OH; Johny Carvajal, S/DS; Jesus Zacarias, OH; Albert Flores, M. Sophomore Juan Salgado, DS.

Last season: 15-20-1

Comments: "I'm looking forward to a successful season," said Kopkowski. "Every day the energy levels are high and the effort of each of my athletes is 100 percent. They focus on getting better every day and improving upon their roles. We expect to improve on our overall record, and continue to make it further in the state playoffs than the previous year."

MID-SUBURBAN WESTBarringtonCoach: Rob Ridenour

Roster to include: Seniors Colin Castagna, MH; Tommy Soifer, S; Indy Nenn, L/DS; Connor Wright, OH; Carl Lenling, L/DS; Mike Amato, OH/DS; Nitin Singh, MH/OPP; Grant Walsh, OH; Lucas Moews, DS; Matt Kuhn, DS. Juniors Justin Glader, OPP; Noah Ricchetti, S; Adam Glader, OH; Justin Hana, MH; Sean Frey, OH. Sophomore Ethan Carroll, MH.

Last Season: 28-9 overall, 9-1 in the MSL West, tied for 1st.

Comments: "We have a nice mix of strong seniors and multiple talented underclassmen," said Ridenour. We will have a lot of competition for playing time. Overall, we're solid but need to focus on details and error-minimization if we want to take another step. The biggest strength of our team is overall athleticism. While not as big as in the past, this is probably the most athletic team I've had in awhile."

ConantCoach: Steven Peter

Roster to include: Seniors Patryk Openchowski, OH; Robert Wozniak, OH/RH/DS; Jae Pyun, OH; Mark Tomuta, RH/OH/DS; Christian Zamudio, DS/S. Juniors Mohit Bandla, RH/OH; Connor Lejman, RH/S; Nickan Azarafrooz, MH; John (JT) Levitt, S/DS; Nathan Armando, S/DS; Peerce Williams, MH. Sophomores Nikola Todorov, MH; Nicholas Pope, OH/RH.

Comments: "Player motivation is high to improve upon last year's record," said Peter," and to intensify our training and achieve wins and success. I hope that we can build upon past successes and learn from our shortcomings."

FremdCoach: Curt Pinley

Roster to include: Seniors Tim Vandon, M; Aaron Kent, OH; Andrew Larson, OH; Sharief Scott, OH; Juniors Eduardo Amador, S; Austin Park, OH, Benjamin Zimmerman, M. Sophomore Patrick Kurka, DS.

Last season: Top 3 MSL West finish

Comments: "We had a lot of growing pains last year," said Pinley, "and I think we'll be a better team this season. This group of athletes are very hard workers and they communicate well with one another. They have a passion for the game and that's a great formula for success."

Hoffman EstatesCoach: Dan Hutton

Roster to include: Seniors Anthony Orozco, DS; Gregg Lugo, OH; Connor Rodheim, MB; Nick Cavaliero, MB; Kush Patel, OH. Juniors Matt Stacy, S; Piotr Wrobel, MB; Josh Ley, OH; Brian Girard, MB; Hardik Patel, S; Henro Woo, DS; Jordan Ehlers, OH.

Comments: "This team has already established a great bond," said Hutton. "The boys are working well together and are ready to begin competing. There's a nice mix of varsity leadership from last year and newcomers who are willing and anxious to compete at the varsity level."

PalatineCoach: Frank Stark

Roster to include: Seniors Kyle Obernesser, S; Jakub Niedzwiecki, OH. Juniors Tyler Kendzior, RH; Ryan Campbell, RH.

Last season: Division and MSL champions

Comments: "We're very excited about our returning players," said Stark. "This team loves to work hard and push each other in every practice. The team seems motivated to take their game to the next level. They are a very fun team that gets along well and knows how to compete."

SchaumburgCoach: Jeff O'Brien

Roster to include: Seniors Stephen Knitter, OH; Romario Rios, OH; Cameron Nolan, MB. Juniors Nidhin Thomas, S; Bohzidar Kolev, OPP.

Last season: Tied for third in the MSL West.

Comments: "We've got a strong group of returning starters," said O'Brien, "as well as strong junior newcomers. We should be in a good position to compete for the Mid-Suburban West title this year."