Boys volleyball: Bartlett finally solves Schaumburg

Bartlett went to the well to beat Schaumburg for the first time in eight years.

The Hawks used a few different buckets to draw past Schaumburg 25-9, 25-18 Wednesday in nonconference boys volleyball action at Schaumburg.

"This group has been together since sophomore year," Bartlett coach Robert Schwantz said. "We have nine seniors and they all contribute. They are not intimidated by anybody."

Bartlett (2-0) has won both of its matches this season in two sets. The Hawks were led by several different players throughout their match against Schaumburg.

"I don't think we have any weak spots on the court," Schwantz said. "It is also nice to have a 6-foot-5 setter that goes all the way around. Anything that is at the net he can just dump it over."

Carter Burzlaff, who has an offer from Lewis University, was dominant at the serving line, setting and at the net. He served for 7 points with 4 aces, had 2 kills and 14 assists.

"We were really energetic because we have never beaten Schaumburg, " Burzlaff said. "We knew that winning this match would make a difference because starting 2-0 is important. We can keep the momentum into the next match."

Burzlaff did his job in the first set, especially from the service line.

The Hawks led 13-11 when Burzlaff rotated to the back line to serve. He sparked the Hawks to 4 straight points, with Burzlaff accounting for 2 of those points with aces.

With a 17-11 lead, Bartlett stayed in control and Burzlaff scored the final 2 points with a pair of aces.

"My serves were very good in the first game," Burzlaff said. "And I was really happy with the way I distributed the ball in the second game. We had a lot of players hitting real well."

Led by Isaiah Mitchell (5 kills), Schaumburg (1-1) opened up a 15-11 lead in the second set.

The Hawks then began to rally with James Ballance at the service line. He served Bartlett to 6 consecutive points, with Jacob Bush getting a pair of kills as the Hawks opened up an 18-15 advantage.

"I wasn't distracted at all," Ballance said. "The plan was to make as many as I could. I knew our offense could handle things and battle it out."

After the teams traded points, Bush took over. The 6-foot-4 hitter blasted two more kills as Bartlett was able to pull away at the end.

"I have been off in my serves, so I knew I had to make it up," said Bush, who finished with 7 kills for the match.

"I told Carter (Burzlaff) that I had no blockers. And once we got it down, we kept on going."

Also coming up big for Bartlett was Toiyon Walton, who had 4 kills and 2 blocks, along with Martin Radomski (2 kills, 1 block), Garret Julian (2 blocks) and Sohum Desai (6 digs).

Schaumburg coach Eric Melton, whose Saxons beat Elk Grove in a match on Tuesday, said it was difficult for his young team to come back with two matches in two days.

"We are a younger team, in terms of our experience, so it would have been nice to have a practice between matches," Melton said. "It should a little bit with our veteran players. There were spurts of us playing the way we are supposed to play. We just want to put those together."