Boys volleyball: Experience pays off for Lake Park

There's no denying Lake Park's boys volleyball postseason resume.

"We have eight regional titles and eight Sweet Sixteen appearances in a row," Lancers coach Tim Murphy said.

That kind of experience and tradition was evident when Lake Park prevailed over Rockford Guilford 25-15, 25-20 Friday night in the Lake Park sectional semifinals. The Lancers (29-9) will face St. Charles North at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a rematch of a 2014 sectional title meeting that went to the North Stars.

Guilford (20-4) scored first and had a 2-1 lead off a Noah Diab kill before Lake Park took the lead and got ahead 10-5 before methodically increasing the gap.

Game 2 was even at 9 when Jack Fischer and Nick Martinski had solid serves that led to a series of Lancers kills and a 15-10 advantage. When the Vikings closed to within 2, Jordan Haigh included a service ace with another 5-0 surge that propelled Lake Park to its ninth straight victory. Lake Park remains unbeaten in May.

"Our block was a huge difference. Starting two sophomores and four juniors means we may be young, but they've bought into our system. We run sets lower and that's harder for opponents to block," Murphy said. "Guilford sets were higher and that enabled us to outblock them. Great things can be accomplished with group play, average results come from individual play."

That was clear even with no eye-popping statistics as Fischer topped the team with 6 kills while also recording 2 blocks, 3 aces and 6 digs. Martinski added 4 kills and 3 blocks while Haigh contributed 5 kills and a block. Justin Yost chalked up 19 assists, 7 digs and 3 blocks.

"Coach always preaches being mentally strong, always get the next point," Yost said. "Tonight our defense stepped up, especially in terms of blocking. Our team never gives up and having been co-champs in the (DuPage Valley Conference) proves we belong in the postseason."

Stopping Guilford's surges was something that Fischer expected from his teammates.

"This team has really come together as the latest edition of a program that is always motivated to win," Fischer said. "My mentality is to play with 100 percent effort and play like we're down by 2 at all times. Our bench has been a big boost to us either on the court or simply supporting each other."