Boys volleyball: Glenbard West makes it six straight WSC Silver championships

Glenbard West caused the first delay then was forced to endure a planned delay on Tuesday.

But the Hilltoppers, who have advanced to the boys volleyball state quarterfinals for five straight seasons, stuck to business on the court. Glenbard West defeated Lyons 25-15, 25-17 to clinch its sixth straight West Suburban Silver championship.

The Hilltoppers (31-3, 6-0) had more drama and uncertainty off the court than any trouble caused by the Lions. After arriving late to their road match due to advanced placement testing and traffic, the Hilltoppers had to endure a lengthy Senior night ceremony in LaGrange.

Cavalcante tallied 7 kills, Ben Harrington and Connor Williams each added 6 and Ryan Swartz netted 4 kills and 7 digs to spark the Hilltoppers. Setter Henry Curtis finished with 25 assists.

"It was really stressful waiting, but we had to keep our minds straight on the game and focus, and we got the job done," junior Nicco Cavalcante said. "The crowd was going crazy, but we put that aside and did our thing."

Glenbard West's "thing" is winning. The Hilltoppers have won at least 30 matches for six straight seasons and eight of the last nine. Despite having some trouble slowing Lyons senior outside hitter Ray Bonner, the Hilltoppers cruised to the victory.

Cavalcante admitted the team is motivated to regain its stature atop the volleyball world in the state after winning three straight state titles from 2015-17. They placed third last season.

"We've been sticking together and fixing the little things to be a great team," he said. "We've been working hard on mental toughness and strength, and that's worked good for us. Our theme for this year is 'Take it back.' We have to prepare ourselves to do our best to get the results we want."

Harrington set the tone by smacking a kill for the first point. Colin Malec's ace closed out the first game, while Swartz had a strong showing to stop a rally by the Lions (22-12, 4-2) in the second game.

"We've been working on being businesslike," Glenbard West coach Christine Giunta-Mayer said. "We have an hour and half on the court to focus on what we need to do. I thought they played great tonight. I'm very pleased with my team."