Boys volleyball: Addison Trail hands Willowbrook a loss
Addison Trail senior setter Nico Nasti put his hands up in the air in celebration.
After the Blazers stormed back to win the first game against Willowbrook, Nasti was also a key part of a Game 2 comeback.
Walking to the huddle during a timeout late in the second game, after his team erased a 4-point deficit to tie the game at 20-20, Nasti saw the writing on the wall.
The Blazers, thanks to the play of Nasti and Joe Mosny, mounted another spirited comeback bid to claim a 25-19, 28-26 boys volleyball win over the Warriors in West Suburban Gold action on Tuesday.
"We have some new starters, so we're a little bit inconsistent right now," Addison Trail coach Chad Grant said. "We have certain rotations where we have our best hitters in the front row and we catch fire. Our blocking has improved a lot, and that was a big part in our comeback. It's good to be able to come from behind like that and showed some character."
Mosny, a 6-foot senior, sparked the Blazers (4-5, 1-0) with numerous big plays in Game 2 to finish with a match-high 15 kills. Justin Werderitch and Gianfranco Patano both had 6 kills and Nasti racked up 26 assists for the Blazers.
"I told (Nico) to give me the ball and I would do the work and we will see what happens," Mosny said. "He's smart enough when I have two blockers, he'll pass it to someone else."
Mosny and Nasti ignited a comeback from a 12-6 deficit in Game 1, while also helping the Blazers storm back from deficits of 17-13 and 24-23 in Game 2.
"We didn't start very strong," Mosny said. "Our communication wasn't good, but once we started getting some points, it got the team going. This win means a lot because we won conference last year and it would mean a lot to win it again."
The Warriors' inexperience showed in key moments, as middle hitter Jevon Lowery and senior Joey Cavazos are the only players with significant varsity experience.
"Things looked good at first for us," Willowbrook coach Ryan Bazon said. "But Addison Trail kept grinding and got their hands on everything and played great defense. I'm trying to teach my guys to get hands on the ball. It's early in the year. We're learning. We have a whole bunch of guys with no varsity experience, but I'm excited for the rest of the year."
The Warriors (1-2, 0-1) were led by Kevin Cavazos and Mike Hay. But Mosny was too much to handle for the Warriors. He had 3 kills, 2 off assists from Nasti, to tally three of his team's final four points.
"Joe is so impressive for his size," Grant said. "His court awareness and ability to find spots on the floor and get a kill is probably better than anybody I've coached. We have to pass well, so we can feed him the ball and it will open things up for people around him."