Friday, May 16 results
At Lincoln-Way East
Lincoln-Way East def. Niles North 21-25, 27-25 15-10
Lincoln-Way East (26-5 overall, 7-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference): Marty Dwyer (1 ace), Madan Sundaram (3 assists), Nick Klawitter (4 kills), Joey Abbeduto (5 kills, 1 ace), Carter Geiger (5 kills), Will Hubatch (16 assists), Matthew Muehlnickel (14 kills, 1 ace, 1 assist), Hunter Tabor (7 kills), Grant Urban (4 kills), Dylan Nanney (16 assists, 1 ace).
Niles North (23-6 overall, 5-3 in the Central Suburban North): Haktau Erel (6 kills), Rafael dan Bartilad (1 ace, 1 assist), Gino Hamoy (7 kills, 1 block), Horia Beca (28 assists, 2 kills, 1 ace), Noah Tayone (1 block), Andrew Selig (3 kills, 1 block), Stefan Toma (8 kills), Andrik Marquez (5 kills, 1 block), Rhiann Michael Calimutan (1 ace).
Notes: After closing the first set on a 6-2 run, Niles North overcame an 18-14 deficit in the second set to tie the game at 20-20. A kill by Niles North junior middle hitter Haktau Erel tied the second set at 25-25, but a service error gave Lincoln-Way East a set point and a kill by 5-11 junior Joey Abbeduto even the match at a set apiece. Lincoln-Way East then broke out to a 13-8 lead in the third set and coasted to the victory.
Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore: “Hopefully, we’re not going to be dragging tomorrow morning. We’ve got to catch a bus at 7:30 tomorrow to go to Lyons Township (for another triangular with the host Lions and Joliet West). I liked how our guys turned it around. We did not play great in the first set against Niles North and not great for most of the second set, either. We gutted out a win and then played a lot cleaner against Barrington. I like that we were able to put that (Niles North match) in the rear view and push forward, because you have to do that in volleyball especially when you’re playing good team after good team like our schedule is.”
Barrington def. Niles North 25-23, 25-19
Niles North (23-7 overall, 5-3 in the Central Suburban North): Haktan Erel (5 kills, 1 ace), Rafael dan Bartilad (1 kill), Gino Hamoy (6 kills, 1 block), Horia Beca (16 assists, 2 kills), Andrew Selig (4 kills, 1 block), Stefan Toma (3 kills), Sameul Peng (5 assists), Andrik Marquez (4 kills).
Barrington (20-10 overall, 9-1 in the Mid-Suburban West): Jimmy Lau (11 assists, 2 kills),
John Sun (4 aces, 3 kills, 2 blocks), Carson Skinner (6 assists), Oliver Halvey (4 kills, 1 block), Eric Zastawny (1 block, 1 kill), Matt Louis (8 kills, 2 blocks), Dennis Kukovski (4 kills, 1 ace).
Notes: Niles North broke out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, but Barrington pulled even at 7-7 and the set was back-and-forth until a Niles North service error gave Barrington a 24-23 lead. A block by Eric Zastwany rode the several feet across the net and fell just inches inbounds to give Barrington the first set win. The Broncos then used a 12-6 run in the second set that featured a pair of kills apiece from John Sun, Oliver Halvey and junior Dennis Kukovski to build a 20-11 lead and held on after the Vikings closed to within 21-17.
Niles North coach Luke Spicer: “I would have liked to see us take a good first match, instead of being down on it, ride that momentum. Unfortunately, we came out a little flat, We started to find it at the end, it was just a little too late. I was really happy we could set this up … three good teams, especially this late in the season as we get close to postseason. It was really a good experience. All three of these teams have played a really tough schedule all year. It’s fun to get these last couple matches in.”
Lincoln-Way East def. Barrington 25-15, 25-20
Lincoln-Way East (27-5 overall, 7-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference): Nick Klwaitter (1 kill, 2 blocks), Joey Abbeduto (4 kills), Isaac Vroom (1 block), Carter Geiger (4 kills), Will Hubatch (8 assists, 1 kill), Matthew Muehlnickel (2 kills, 2 blocks, 5 aces, 1 assist), Hunter Tabor (3 kills), Grant Urban (3 kills), Dylan Nanney (8 assists).
Barrington (20-11 overall, 9-1 in the Mid-Suburban West): Jimmy Lau (8 assists, 1 block), John Sun (4 kills), Carson Skinner (5 assists, 2 aces), Oliver Halvey (4 kills), Eric Zastawny (2 kills), Matt Louis (3 kills, 1 block, 1 ace), Dennis Kukovski (2 kills).
Notes: The first set was all Lincoln-Way East, which used a 7-2 run to extend what had been a 12-9 lead. The second set was tied at 15-15, but the Griffins eased to a 23-18 lead on the strength of three aces, two kills and a block from Matt Muehlnickel. Barrington played both matches without three starters – 6-4 outside hitter Sam Grozdic (knee), 6-7 sophomore outside hitter Matt Kravstov (illness) and 6-1 outside hitter Eli Rodda, who returned to the lineup for the first time in a month on Thursday but reaggravated the knee injury that had kept him on the sidelines.
Barrington assistant coach Ethan Carroll: “Not bad. Lots to work on. Injuries seem to be the story of our whole year, changing the lineup every match. But we came out of here 1-1 and I can’t complain about that. The guys who played did great. I always appreciate when they step up to the call and do what we ask them to do … play their best. You can’t ask for much more.”
At Mike Hulett Spring Fling
Loyola Academy def. Lake Forest 25-14, 15-25, 15-8
Loyola Academy (14-16 overall, 4-3 in the Chicago Catholic League): Drew Bevan (9 kills), Luke Malles (6 kills, 4 blocks), Michael Eiben (5 kills, 3 blocks), Charlie Trapp (8 kills), Aldis Kins (21 assists), Todd Pham (9 digs).
Deerfield def. Loyola Academy 25-20, 25-21
Loyola Academy (14-17 overall, 4-3 in the Chicago Catholic League): Drew Bevan (11 kills), Michael Eiben (3 kills), Charlie Trapp (4 kills), Aldis Kins (9 assists), Todd Pham (4 digs).
Next up: Loyola Academy will play Whitney Young at 9:00 a.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals at Evanston.