Girls volleyball: Glenbard West gives Mastandrea perfect retirement gift
Before riding off into the sunset, Pete Mastandrea wanted to bring a girls volleyball regional title back to Glenbard West.
On Thursday, his Hilltoppers team accomplished just that for their retiring head coach, defeating Wheaton North 25-15, 25-8 in his final home match and the Class 4A Glenbard West regional final.
Glenbard West (26-11) won its seventh match in a row while advancing to Monday's Class 4A Bartlett sectional where the third-seeded Hilltoppers will face second-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South.
"With coach's last season, we've all been pumped up," said sophomore Marin Johnson, who finished with seven kills and two aces. "We've been trying to give him his wins; we are just riding the adrenaline. It's been his dream since 2017 to get it (a regional title) back and I'm happy we were able to achieve it."
The home team did it with a dominant effort, rattling off the final eight points of the first set. Glenbard West then jumped out to an 11-3 advantage in the second set and closed by scoring seven of the final eight points.
Makayla Webber, one of only two seniors in the starting lineup, led all players with eight kills.
"It's super exciting," Webber said, "especially with it being my last time playing in this gym. We had a great crowd turnout, it was really fun.
"When we are playing as a team, we do a lot better. And when we are having fun out there, we go on runs and that motivates us even more."
Breccan Scheck contributed four kills and Megan Pihlstrom had three. Katherine Creswell tallied three aces and Liz Murray totaled 15 service points, including a pair of aces.
"I still think this team has another level jump," said Mastandrea, whose program had captured regional championships from 2012-17. We've been a bit up and down but this was the best we have played. And you look at the youth on this team mixed with two seniors who don't want this season to end.
"We always say VIN, volleyball in November. We've been good all year and tonight we were great. And I still feel we are capable of an upset (at the sectional)."
Mastandrea also complimented the Falcons on their outstanding season as Wheaton North bounced back from a couple of tough seasons to post 18 wins. Paige Syswerda topped the team with three kills and two aces on a night that they just couldn't get anything going.
"These girls have done amazing things all season," first-year Falcons' coach Justin Hineman said. "They have turned the program around. Every one of our levels had a winning record and that's a testament to these girls.
"Today was not our day but they've put in the work that will pay dividends for years to come. This was not the send off we wanted to give our seniors but we will learn from this and get better."