Boys volleyball: Schaumburg sinks Bartlett in 3 sets

Coming off a disappointing second set loss at Bartlett Wednesday night, Schaumburg needed a boost.

Junior Ryan Regier was happy to supply it.

Regier delivered 5 of his match-high 10 kills in the deciding third set. Besides the stats, Regier brought the emotion for the Saxons, firing up his teammates in a 25-14, 20-25, 25-21 victory.

"Playing with energy helps us rebound," Regier said. "We make mistakes but as long we keep our energy we can come back and win."

Schaumburg (2-0) won its second straight to start the season following Tuesday's victory over Prospect.

"Ryan did stand out from an emotional standpoint and he brought energy to us," Saxons coach Eric Melton said.

It looked early like it would be a quick win for Schaumburg, who never trailed in the first set. But after a clean opening set, the Saxons struggled in the second with 9 hitting errors.

Bartlett (0-1) took advantage as Carter Burzlaff served the first three points including an ace. The lead swelled to 7-1, 11-2 and 14-3 on one of Matt Tomasek's three kills.

The Saxons battled back and forced Hawks coach Bob Schwantz into two timeouts when they closed within 16-10 and then 21-18.

Schaumburg again hurt itself with back-to-back hitting errors, and Pat Biedrzycki ended the set with a blast.

"It's all about how we respond," Melton said. "We won the first game and I think we are still learning as a team how to respond the right way and stay focused. That's (the first set) more indicative of how we play than the second game. Thinking about the right things and staying in system and the second game we got away from it early."

After two lopsided sets with no lead changes, the teams fought back and forth in the third. Tied 8 times, the final one at 15-15, Schaumburg finally pulled away starting with a booming kill from Regier.

Nathan Thomas followed with a kill for a 17-15 lead, and a violation on the Hawks followed by Regier tooling a shot made it 19-15.

Bartlett got within 19-17 on Jonathan Ruge's ace, and when Toiyon Walton blocked a ball Bartlett trailed just 22-21.

But Schaumburg responded with the final 3 points, first when the Hawks hit into the net, then Regier's kill, and finally a blistering serve by Dan Kaszuba on match point for an ace.

"After the second set we all talked about moving forward," Regier said. "We had a fresh start. This year we are all returning starters. We have a lot of veterans."

Melton certainly is glad to have that experience, which includes senior Matt Hoppesch with 5 kills in the middle.

"Matt was active in the middle and that made a difference for us," Melton said. "We've got a tough competitive conference and we expect to compete every time. I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow."

Jacob Bush and returning all-Upstate Eight selection Walton led the Hawks with 6 kills each.

"That was first time we've taken a set from Schaumburg," Bartlett coach Bob Schwantz said. "They showed a lot of heart. I thought our middles hit really well. We go through our middles a lot. In the past we've always been outside heavy. This year if we can establish middles and right side Garrett Jurina it will open things up. We had some bumps and we will smooth them out."

Schwantz is looking forward to the Hoffman Estates tournament this weekend.

"We're still a relatively young team," Schwantz said. "We're a work in progress. We're putting it together."