Boys volleyball: Geneva battles back, tops Maine West to win own tourney

There was no doubt in the mind of Stephanie Hennig.

Even though Geneva lost Game 1 to Maine West 25-19, the Vikings coach maintained positive vibes.

The Vikings rallied to win games 2 and 3 25-20, 15-13 to defeat the Warriors in the championship game of the Geneva Invitational Saturday.

The Vikings (14-9 overall, 5-0 in the tournament) defeated West Chicago, Glenbard South and Payton Prep in pool play.

Geneva advanced to the finals with a 25-14, 25-15 semifinal win over Harlem.

"We just had to reset after the first game," said Hennig. "I knew we were tired but I wanted to stay positive. I knew the team wanted to win their home tournament. It is nice to have 10 seniors out of 12 players on the team."

There were 5 lead changes early in Game 2 before Geneva broke a 10-10 deadlock with a 5-0 run spearheaded by 3 kills and an ace by senior Daniel Youman. With Geneva leading 15-10, the Warriors rallied to tie the game at 18 on an ace by Andrew Cedeno.

The Vikings responded with a 6-2 run to take a 24-20 advantage. An ace by Charlie Sexton tied the match at 1-1.

Maine West got off to a good start in the decisive game 3.

A kill by Marek Czerlonko gave the Warriors (20-9) an 11-6 lead. The Vikings went on a 7-2 surge to tie the game at 13.

Kills by Jack Mally and Youman gave the Vikes the match and the championship.

Youman led the Vikes with 17 kills, 3 blocks and 2 aces. Mally contributed 10 kills with 2 blocks and 3 aces while Colin Kelly collected 5 kills and 3 blocks for the winners.

"We didn't get down after the first game," said Kelly. "They (Maine West) played phenomenal in the first game. We fell short in a few tournaments this year, so we really wanted to win our own tournament. We feel like we are playing well with the regionals coming up. We are all friends on the team. We have great chemistry."

Czerlonko and Marcin Siergiej led the Warriors with 9 kills apiece. Larelle Potts collected 5 kills with 3 blocks.

"We are a young and inexperienced team and are still growing," said Maine West coach Mike OBrill.

"This is a very competitive group. Our passing hurts us at times. We had a had a great tournament."