Boys volleyball: Glenbard West shows Barrington it learned lesson

Glenbard West's boys volleyball team looked back to move ahead.

A month ago the Hilltoppers took the last of their three losses to Barrington. Opening the state quarterfinals Friday at Hoffman Estates, Glenbard West turned the tables to beat the Broncos in two games, 25-12, 25-18.

"I think it's something we changed, huge for this game," said coach Christine Giunta-Mayer, whose Hilltoppers seek to be Illinois' first boys prep volleyball team to win four straight titles. Glenbard West (37-3) will play Neuqua Valley, a three-set winner over Lincoln-Way West, in Saturday's 10 a.m. semifinal.

"We knew the last time we played them we couldn't get in system, we couldn't run our middles, our serve-receive was off, our defense was AWOL," Giunta-Mayer said. "So we used that and said, look, we just have to find our defensive game and then just be smart all over. It was a completely different team."

Senior J.T. Ardell at 6-foot-8 doesn't need to run to menace an opponent at the net. Ardell had 2 blocks and converted 7 of 8 attack opportunities to tie for the team kills lead with fellow middle hitter Connor Williams. Outside hitter Mike O'Toole led all players with 8 kills for Barrington (34-6).

"We weren't able to do it the first time we played them, so it was nice to be able to do it today," Pepperdine-bound Ardell said of attacking from the middle. "It kind of put us in a good system."

In Game 1 Barrington coach Rob Ridenour took two timeouts in the first 19 points trying to stem Glenbard West's momentum, which included solid defense from Henry Curtis, Stone Metz and Zack Morris, who had a match-high 9 digs.

That momentum never waned as the Hilltoppers extended a 14-5 lead to 21-8 and, then, 25-12.

"We've been playing really well the past month and a half," Ridenour said. "Our calling card has kind of been being gritty defensively and getting the serve-receive in great. It's a really hard way to win. It's a skill that takes a ton of energy and a ton of effort, and today we just got beat. They were better than us in that skill today."

In Game 2 the 6-5 O'Toole, Petar Lumovic and 6-4 outside hitter Gabe Hartke kept it close.

"We just decided to go out, put our foot down and just play hard," O'Toole said.

Barrington led 14-13, neither team enjoying more than a 2-point edge until Curtis' kill turned service over to Metz. The senior launched a 6-0 run on the way to the 25-18 decision and match victory.

"We were just trying to make sure that we were serving at their runs, trying to make sure that we could get them as far out of system as possible, make it hard on the setter to set a good ball. Just try to keep them as predictable as possible," Metz said.

Glenbard West's Curtis finished with 24 assists and 7 digs. Evan Carroll had 14 assists for Barrington, which ended its top state run since a third-place finish in 2012.

"It's been a really good year," said O'Toole, who slammed 409 kills on the season. "I love these guys, I've had so many memories with them. This team and this season has made my senior year the best year of my life, so I just want to thank everyone that's supported me, especially the guys."