Boys volleyball: St. Charles East 2nd at own invite
It wasn't a fitting end to an otherwise glorious day for St. Charles East's boys volleyball team Saturday afternoon.
After breezing through pool play with a 4-0 record that included winning 8 consecutive games, the Saints (6-5) settled for second place in their own 10-team tournament following an 25-18, 24-26, 25-14 title loss to Plainfield South's JV team in St. Charles.
"It stinks to end on this note but it was a great day," said Saints coach Kate McCullagh. "We had kind of a rough start to the season with players taking care of different stuff so to have everyone back today and making it to the championship match was nice."
Plainfield South went on a 10-3 spurt to take the opening set and followed a similar plan in the decisive third set.
After the Saints pulled within 14-12 on a net violation, the Cougars closed out the match with an 11-2 tear thanks to the play of senior Keith Carlton (9 kills) and junior Matt Friddle (6 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks).
"We talked afterward about mental toughness moving forward," said McCullagh. "To take what we learned from a pressure situation and try to make sure that we have a positive mindset and not be timid. We want to play in those tight matches."
Led by senior outside hitters Michael Carbonell (14 kills), James Farace (6 kills, 4 aces), and junior middles Jack Macklin (6 kills) and Dom Sciortino (4 kills), the Saints staged a comeback to avoid elimination in the second set.
Trailing 22-18, the Saints pulled even at 23-23 on Macklin's kill off a back set from setter Jake Lauger.
After the Cougars grabbed a 24-23 lead, the Saints jumped out in front 25-24 on back-to-back kills by Farace before capturing the second set on a Plainfield South hitting error.
While the official schedule had Plainfield South sending its JV team to the tourney, seniors and juniors filled the Cougars' roster.
"The coach talked to me afterward," said McCullagh. "From what I understand, when they enrolled in the tournament they thought they would have some kids gone - and they were here."
For the day, the Saints were fueled by Carbonell (36 kills), Farace (26 kills), Lauger (92 assists), Sciortino (24 kills), and Mike Rawson (31 digs).
West Chicago capped a 4-1 day with a 25-22, 26-24 victory over Elgin (8-6) in the third-place match.
Junior outside hitter Ross Behr powered the Wildcats with 17 kills while senior teammate Anthony Arias added 6 kills and an ace against the Maroons.
"Sometimes I get in a zone," said Behr. "Lucas (setter Kulesza) was giving me great sets so it was pretty easy.
"We're happy with third place," added Behr. "We wish we could have done better but we'll take it."
Marcus Gonzalez (6 kills, ace), Courtese Cooper (4 kills), and Pat Shioli (4 aces) paced the Maroons, who jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the opening set before the Wildcats rallied.
Elgin finished the day with a 3-2 record.
"Considering that the past four years in a row we've been playing in the last-place match, being in the third-place match today is a huge step for us," said Elgin coach Scott Stewart. "And we missed being in the first-place match by a five-point tiebreaker.
"We'll continue to get better. Last year 14 games in, we were 1-13 so there's no complaints."