THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008
Hersey, Prospect Earn Tournament Titles
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Sports
Hersey lost an MSL conference match but then won a big invitational, Prospect won its own tournament, Maine East rolled along in the Central Suburban-North, Conant soared in the MSL-West, and St. Viator struggled.
And Maine South defeated one arch-rival in its conference, but lost to another.
These were the highlights in area boys volleyball this past week, as the IHSA announced its regional and sectional pairings for the upcoming state tournament.
After a tough, 21-25, 28-26, 18-25 loss to Wheeling in the Mid Suburban-East, Hersey went over to the Bartlett invite and won four straight matches in two games over St. Ignatius, Rolling Meadows, and Glenbard West, and finally beating Bartlett in the championship match, 25-19, 25-17.
Griffin Dwyer's 42 kills led the Huskie offense in the tournament,
Meadows finished 2-2 in the tourney, defeating St. Ignatius and Glenbard West in pool play and then losing to Waubonsie Valley for third place, 21-25, 24-26.
Matt Vinezeano had 21 kills and 11 blocks for the tourney, and Tyler Vinezeano had 21 kills and 3 blocks.
Hersey improved to 13-10 on the season.
Prospect went 5-0 in its own tournament, defeating Evanston, Libertyville, Larkin, St. Charles North, and Hoffman Estates. The Knights brought their record to approximately the .500 level.
Conant had another good week on the courts, defeating Hoffman Estates, 25-10, 25-21, behind 4 kills by Peter Lauterbach, 3 aces each by Ryan Schraub and Ken Ropiak, 16 assists by Schraub and Drew Fisher, and 9 kills combined from Ropiak, Johnny Pontarelli, and Fisher.
The Cougars (19-7) also defeated Vernon Hills, 25-23, 13-25, 25-19, behind 14 kills by Ropiak and 8 by Dan Aloisio, 29 assists by Schraub and Fisher, and 5 blocks by Ropiak and Pontarelli.
Maine South is at 14-11 on the season, but is a sparkling 5-1 in the CSL-South, thanks in part to a three-game victory last weekend over New Trier. The Hawks dropped a two-game match to Evanston, however, for its only loss in the conference.
Maine East improved to 15-6, and 4-2 in the CSL, with a 25-9, 25-11 win over an unidentified opponent in the Central Suburban League. Wojtek Snarski had 8 kills and 3 aces for the Demons.
Maine West bowed to powerful Glenbrook North in the CSL-North, 25-8, 25-12. Brendan Joyce had 5 assists for the Warriors, Tony Gasior served an ace, and Stewart Turner-Jackson, Gasior, and Joyce had 2 kills each. Siby Mathew contributed 4 solo blocks.
Buffalo Grove and Fremd are probably headed to the Mid Suburban League's championship match May 14 at the West Division site, based upon standings in the two MSL divisions as of May 5.
In preparation for the IHSA state tournament that begins May 19 at various area sites, regional and sectional first-round pairings and seedings have been announced.
Top-seeded area teams are Elk Grove and Conant, 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the Wheaton St. Francis sectional; Maine East, Niles West, and Maine South, 4th, 5th, and 6th, respectively, in the New Trier sectional.
Here is the schedule of first round matches involving area teams:
At Glenbrook South - host Titans vs. Loyola, 7:30 p.m. May 20
At Evanston - Notre Dame vs. Gordon Tech, 7 p.m. May 19; Niles West vs. Maine West, 7:30 p.m. May 20
At Maine South - Maine East vs. either Chi. Amundsen or CICI/Northtown, 7 p.m. May 19; Maine South vs. Chi. Taft, 7:30 p.m. May 20
At West Chicago - Conant vs. West Chicago or Streamwood, 6:30 p.m. May 20
At Elk Grove - Elk Grove vs. St. Charles East or Elgin, 6:30 p.m. May 20
At Rolling Meadows - Meadows. vs. Bartlett, 7:30 p.m. May 20
At Wheaton South - Prospect vs. St. Charles North, 7:30 p.m. May 20
At Downers Grove North - Leyden vs. Downers North, 7:30 p.m. May 20
At Vernon Hills - Wheeling vs. St. Viator, 7 p.m. May 19; winner vs. Lake Forest, 6:30 p.m. May 20
At Antioch - Hersey vs. Carmel, 7:30 p.m. May 20
Regional finals are Wed., May 21, and sectionals are May 23 and 27.