Boys volleyball: Winning approach from Barrington at Palatine
Barrington junior Sean Dolan said taking control of the mental game was key to the Broncos' division-clinching boys volleyball win Thursday at Palatine.
"All year long we've been struggling with emotional consistency," said Dolan, who celebrated his 17th birthday with a Barrington 25-22, 25-17 Mid-Suburban West victory. "This win was a learning experience for us, and it was a good experience to go through something like we did tonight - now when it happens in the playoffs, we'll be ready for it."
The junior was referring to the first set, when the Broncos trailed late but were able to turn what looked to be a 1-set deficit into a 1-set lead.
"Overall this was a very gutsy performance by our guys tonight," said Barrington coach Rob Ridenour, who watched his team clinch the West championship with one conference game remaining.
It's the seventh straight year that the Broncos (21-6, 9-0) have either won the division outright (6 times) or tied for first (once, with the Pirates).
"Their mental focus was at a high level," added Ridenour of his perennially successful squad. "Their energy level was sky high. Physically it wasn't our best effort, but I was very impressed and very proud of the way they approached the match."
Palatine came into the match riding their own wave of emotion, as they had a chance to tie the Broncos for the West lead with a victory. And all went well for the home team early as they rode the defensive play of Sean Raby and the athletic blocking of setter Jake Boldog to a 22-21 first-set lead.
Then, inexplicably, despite having all the momentum on their side, the Pirates had four consecutive hitting errors.
"We struggle sometimes (in situations like this)," said Palatine coach Frank Stark. "We've got a lot of young kids and they're learning all the time."
Palatine (20-10, 7-2) recovered in the second set to forge a 9-all deadlock. But then Barrington, led by middles TJ Murray (5 kills, 6 blocks) and Josh Babicz (6 kills), ran off 8 straight points to take control.
The Pirates scored 5 consecutive points of their own to make things interesting, but Barrington closed out the match on a Babicz kill.
Justin Tiao and Jack Ridgway served up a pair of aces apiece for the winners.
"This was a good team win," said Dolan. "Sometimes it seemed like we were on a rollercoaster ride tonight, but we always maintained a positive attitude."
Setter Ridgway added 18 assists for the Broncos.
"It was all about the mental game tonight," agreed Babicz. "We kept fighting and we never gave up. Our game plan was to come out and be patient on their hitters, and hit the seams with our serves."
Boldog earned 18 assists for Palatine, but the Pirates didn't have an answer for the Barrington play in the middle.
"I think a little bit of frustration set in," said Stark. "Barrington was doing a great job on the block, and we didn't respond."