Boys volleyball: Glenbard South takes 2nd at Geneva invite
The effort was evident.
Unfortunately, the results Glenbard South was looking for didn't happen.
Hononegah outlasted the valiant Raiders 25-20, 25-27, 15-8 to win the championship of the Geneva Invitational Saturday afternoon.
All five matches Glenbard South played went three sets.
"It was a long day," said South coach Chad Grant. "Our kids kept fighting and they were certainly tired. We are small and undersized but we fight and compete. We played five good teams today and played Fremd Thursday, In a short period, we played six really good teams."
Owen Gibson and Ben Zima led the Raiders (19-5) with 11 kills apiece.
Defensively, the Raiders couldn't contain Hononegah standout Bradyon Savitski Lynde, who had 24 kills, 4 blocks and 3 aces.
"Braydon is a very skilled volleyball player and a great teammate," said Hononegah coach Annie Curran. "He was outstanding. We are ready with guns a blazing for the postseason."
Saul Minero added 14 kills for Hononegah (20-4).
With 8 lead changes in Game 1, the tournament champions took the lead for good at 22-21 on a kill by Savitski Lynde.
A kill by Minero gave Hononegah a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Raiders didn't give up.
In Game 2 with the game tied at 25, Zima produced two kills to tie the match 1-1.
In the decisive third game, Hononegah broke a 5-5 deadlock with a 6-0 run. Three kills each by Minero and Savitski Lynde gave Hononegah an 11-5 lead.
A kill by Minero gave Hononegah the game, match and championship.
Third-place match:
Geneva bounced back from a 3-set semifinal loss to Hononegah to defeat West Chicago 25-18, 25-17 to capture third place.
Junior standout Jack Mally paced the Vikings with 17 kills, 5 blocks and 3 aces.
"We had to change our mindset for this game," said Mally. "We had such a high energy game against Hononegah. It was a tough loss. We try to learn from our losses. We would have liked to have repeated as champions. But, we are happy with third. Overall, we had a very good tournament."
Assistant coach Eric Schulget praised Mally's play.
"Jack had a great tournament," said Schulget, taking over for head coach Stephanie Hennig, who is on maternity leave. "He is a well rounded player."
Eli Sladkov and Michael Loberg contributed 7 kills apiece for Geneva (11-12).
"The game (semifinal) was over and we had to forget about it," said Schulget. "We played well in the third place game and played well in the tournament. The season has been a roller-coaster ride."
Vincent Spadoni paced West Chicago with 13 kills and 3 aces.
Semifinals:
Hononegah defeated Geneva, 25-19, 23-25, 15-5.
Savitsky Lynde had 12 kills, while Jayden Cook collected 8 kills for the winners.
Mally had 12 kills with 3 aces for Geneva. In Game 1, with the score tied at 17, Hononegah went on a pivotal 7-0 run to take control.
The Vikings rallied to win Game 2. Down 19-14, the Vikings eventually tied the match at 23. A Mally kill tied the match at 1.
In Game 3, Hononegah scored the final 8 points to advance to the championship match.
Glenbard South defeated West Chicago, 25-12, 21-25, 15-13.
In Game 1, the Raiders never trailed in taking a 1-0 lead.
In Game 2, West Chicago scored the final 4 points to tie the match at 1-1. A kill by Aidan Murran gave the Wildcats Game 2.
There were 5 lead changes in Game 3 before the Raiders won the match on an ace by Zima.
Gibson led South with 12 kills while Spadoni paced the Wildcats with 7 kills.