Boys volleyball: Devalk, Gobetz team up to lift Lake Park over Schaumburg

Fear the jump.

Lake Park's Evan Devalk and Conor Gobetz aren't your typical outside hitters. Neither one barely reaches 6-foot.

But their lack of height doesn't translate into lack of fine play when it comes to being at the net, as opponents of the Lancers are finding out this season. On Monday, it was Schaumburg's turn.

Devalk and Gobetz combined for 17 kills as Lake Park swept the Saxons 25-18, 25-18 in a nonconference match in Schaumburg.

"They do a very good job," Lake Park coach Brian Fischer said. "They know they aren't the biggest guys in the gym, so they have to be able to hit shots in different scenarios and take good high swings off of blocks."

Devalk and Gobetz have been friends and played volleyball together since middle school. Devalk says that gives them a huge advantage on the court.

"We know the game real well," Devalk said. "We know when to change up what we are doing. When to change our shots. When to swing and not to swing. And although we aren't the tallest team like we were last year, we still have that mentality and the intelligence of the game."

Gobetz said that the Lancers are fearless.

"It is definitely tough being a smaller team," Gobetz said. "But we have an advantage because we are quick and we are scrappy. We get a lot of balls up which is to our advantage. We can put it away when we need to."

Gobetz, who had 4 kills in the first set, and middle hitter Andrew Carroll, who had two kills in the set, paced the Lancers at the start. Lake Park (9-7) jumped out to a 10-3 lead.

It was then Devalk's turn as he came up with 7 kills down the stretch. He was able to attack on the left side as Schaumburg (6-11) never got closer than five points. Lake Park cruised to a 25-18 win in the opening set.

Lake Park again jumped to an early lead in the second set. Gobetz and Carroll set the pace as Lake Park led 8-3.

The Lancers led 12-7 when Schaumburg made its move.

Led by Christopher Radomski, the Saxons closed to 12-11. But the Saxons' next serve was out and that was the opening that Lake Park needed.

The Lancers ran off four more consecutive points on their way to a 9-2 run and a 21-13 lead. Schaumburg was able to get as close as 22-17 before Lake Park closed out the match with another 25-18 win.

Devalk finished with 9 kills while Gobetz had 8 kills. Carzoli finished with 6 kills while Carter Gibbons and Jay McClellan each had two kills. Taney Patel had 19 assists for the Lancers.

"I thought the guys did a good job," Fischer said. "We still need to work on blocking. We haven't practice in a while, so we have something to work on."

Radomski led Schaumburg with 10 kills, six of which came in the second set. Alex Fitzgerald added three kills for the Saxons.

"Slow starts in volleyball are never a good thing," Schaumburg coach Tim Murphy said. "It is a game of momentum. Our effort an attitude just wasn't there tonight. The good news is that there is a month left in season. So we are going to work things out."