Geneva upends St. Charles North
When Chris Parrilli quit baseball after his freshman year at Geneva High School, it left the young basketball standout with a lot of free time on his hands during the spring.
KC Johnsen quickly offered an idea how Parrilli could fill those spare hours.
"Coach recruited me to volleyball my sophomore year," Parrilli remembered. "He told me his old volleyball coach said basketball players make the best volleyball players."
Johnsen's former coach is obviously on to something. Parrilli earned all-conference volleyball honors as a junior. Now a senior outside hitter, Parrilli's 10 kills and three aces helped spark the Vikings to a 29-27, 25-11 victory over St. Charles North on Tuesday in Geneva.
The win created a three-way tie for first place in the Upstate Eight Conference River Division between Geneva, North and St. Charles East heading into the teams' final conference matches of the season. On May 20 Geneva hosts Elgin, North entertains Streamwood and East travels to Larkin. Each team that wins that day will enjoy a share of the UEC River championship.
North (12-14 overall, 3-1 UEC River) entered Tuesday's match with a 3-0 conference record and needing a victory over Geneva (10-12, 3-1) to clinch the league title outright. Parrilli said the Vikings were determined to make sure the North Stars didn't claim the conference crown on Geneva's home court.
"That motivated us a lot," said Parrilli, whose brief volleyball career is nearing an end. He will play basketball at Elmhurst College starting this fall. "We definitely didn't want to lose the conference to our rivals. That was the most energized we've been as a team all season. We wanted this one so much. Now we have one conference game left, and it's on Senior Night. If (East, North and Geneva) all win Tuesday, there's nothing wrong with sharing the conference title with quality teams like that. It'd be great."
The outcome of Tuesday's match may have been different had the North Stars been able to win a tense first set. The lead changed hands six times, and North had set point at 24-23, but Parrilli drilled a kill from the left side that tied it at 24. After the lead continued going back and forth, Geneva captured the final two points on a left-handed dump for a kill by Vikings freshman setter David Franz (20 assists) and a North passing error for a 29-27 victory.
The first set win fueled the Vikings' confidence and energy level, spurring one of the team's best performances of the season in the second set. Geneva quickly built a 7-2 edge behind a series of kills, blocks and digs. North's Drew Lanz (19 digs) pounded home a kill to briefly stem the momentum, but Geneva promptly rattled off eight straight points for a 15-3 lead. Franz delivered two block kills during the spurt while Parrilli contributed two kills and a block kill, setter Luke Will fired an ace, and senior libero Brandon Navigato supplied two of his 12 digs on hard-hit spikes.
"Our guys were in a rhythm that set," Johnsen said. "Momentum is always a key in volleyball. We had a ton of momentum and energy in the second set. Chris played well. He is a very fierce competitor. He brings great competitiveness to the court."
By the time the second set concluded, Geneva had registered 12 kills, three aces, 10 blocks (three apiece by middle blockers Sam Wulfkuhle and Jonathan Bishop), seven assists and a whopping 12 digs.
Geneva will try to carry the momentum from Tuesday's victory to the Willowbrook Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Vikings will encounter an eight-team field highlighted by Addison Trail - the No. 4 seed in the Conant Sectional - Leyden, Joliet Central and the host school. Geneva then hosts Benet on Monday before its key conference match against Elgin next Tuesday at Mack Olson Gym. The Vikes then start play in the Conant Sectional, where they are seeded 14th of 25 teams. North is 11th and East is 12th.
North's schedule doesn't let up any time soon, either, which is exactly how coach Todd Weimer constructed it to prepare his young team for regional and sectional competition coming up in less than two weeks. The North Stars host Upstate Eight Valley Division powerhouse Waubonsie Valley on Wednesday in a matchup of two of the UEC's top teams.
"Waubonsie Valley will be very, very tough," said Weimer, whose North Stars had to replace 12 seniors from last year's conference, regional and sectional champion and third-place state finisher. "They are seeded ninth in their sectional, but it's loaded with tons of good teams. They have three senior starters, and all three will play college volleyball. We lost to them last year, and we were really good, so our hands will be full. Our plan is to play tough and good enough to win. It's also our Alumni Night and our night to bring items for the Lazarus House for the homeless in St. Charles. They need donations, so we are seeking items that they need in exchange for admission to the match. High School Cube will also be filming the match and doing an online broadcast, so it's a big night overall for us."
North gets little rest before participating in the annual Evanston Spring Fling co-hosted by Evanston High School and Loyola Academy. The North Stars placed second at Evanston in 2013 and third in 2012. North opens in pool play Friday facing Schurz at 5 p.m., Lane at 6:30 and Notre Dame at 8 p.m. The championship and consolation brackets are Saturday.
"We seem to always do that tournament with Relay For Life, staying up all night for Relay after playing Friday in Evanston and then go back out on Saturday," Weimer said. "It's different this year as Relay for Life was last weekend, so we'll see how we do with a good night's sleep."