Boys volleyball: Glenbard West wins hard-fought match over New Trier to reach state semifinals; WW South falls short

Glenbard West never took it for granted, especially this season.

But the Hilltoppers are once again back in the boys volleyball final four.

Charlie Clifford clubbed 14 kills as Glenbard West slid past New Trier 25-21, 29-27 on Friday morning in the opening quarterfinal of the boys volleyball state finals at Hoffman Estates High School.

Glenbard West (35-5) will face O’Fallon, a 25-23, 25-23 winner over Sandburg, at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the opening semifinal. It’s the 11th straight season and the 12th time in the last 14 years that the Hilltoppers will bring home a trophy. But this one is more of a surprise.

“We don’t do anything easy, and it’s very special this year,” Glenbard West coach Christine Giunta-Mayer said of making it back to the final four. “We lost 10 seniors from last season, and I think everyone brushed us off this year. But we trusted the process. We’ve been doing this since 2014.”

Clifford, a senior outside hitter and the only full-time starter back from last season, was huge down the stretch. He had a block to tie the second set at 25-25. He then added a kill and an ace as the Hilltoppers never allowed New Trier another opportunity to win the set. The Trevians couldn’t close out 24-23 and 25-24 leads.

The only kill of the match from freshman right side hitter Lukas Wallin and a block by junior middle hitter Otis Yahn (three kills, one block) closed it out.

“It just shows how consistent we are as a program,” Clifford said. “All the guys support me, and it’s amazing. We just love playing volleyball.”

The two teams met on May 10 at the Glenbrook North Invite, and the Hilltoppers prevailed 26-24, 15-25, 25-21. That was one of their 10 3-set matches this season. They lost the first two but have won the last eight.

The Trevians (27-11) were led by junior outside hitter Oliver Potterfield (14 kills, four digs) and senior middle hitter James Hayek (six kills), as well as sophomore setter Colon Kim (17 assists) and junior setter Sean Scheppach (16 assists).

“New Trier is one of the classiest teams,” Giunta-Mayer said. “They play high caliber and play the right way.”

The first set was tied 21-21. But Clifford and junior right side hitter Luke Bachman (five kills) had kills, the Trevians had a hitting error, and Clifford, who had 10 first-set kills, creamed one to win the opener.

Senior outside hitter Henry Truitt (six kills), senior setter Owen Bare (16 assists), and junior setter Andrew Fanella (12 assists) also contributed for the Hilltoppers.

“Everyone played great,” Bare said. “I was looking for the back row attack a lot today.”

“It was super motivation for me to see us win state as a freshman. With the history of the program, it’s just really easy to play for.”

Lane Tech d. WW South: Over the years, Wheaton Warrenville South has made plenty of boys volleyball state history.

The Tigers won seven state titles and placed second once between 2001-2012.

But, playing in their first state finals since 2012, Wheaton Warrenville South saw its opponent make history. That was Lane Tech, which defeated the Tigers 25-21, 21-25, 25-18 in the last quarterfinal match on Friday at Hoffman Estates High School.

With their 10th straight victory, the Champions (34-6) became the first Chicago Public League team to win a match at the state volleyball tournament. The Public League teams had been 0-7 before this.

They will face defending state champion Marist, a 17-25, 25-14, 25-21 winner over Lake Park at 11 a.m. in the second semifinal on Saturday.

Still, veteran Tigers coach Bill Schreier appreciated being back on the state court he took 10 teams to in 12 years.

“It’s always special to have the opportunity to be here,” Schreier said. “It’s exciting. We didn’t have the sustained level of play that I wanted. But we discovered the culture of the program.”

Schreier drew on an individual from his first team in 1999 to motivate the Tigers.

“One of the guys from my first team, Evan Wayne, drove two and a half hours from Wisconsin for our sectional title match,” Schreier said of his team’s 25-12, 25-21 win on Tuesday over Wheaton North which was his 750th career win. ”He was a glue guy on our first team, and I named an inspirational award after him.

“He would have been at state, but he had to go out of town for something else.”

Wheaton Warrenville South (32-8) saw its seven-match winning streak end. Earlier in the season, on April 19, the Tigers lost to Lane Tech 25-21, 25-21 in their own tournament.

Simon Bratt, a junior outside hitter, led Wheaton Warrenville South with a match-high 21 kills and added six digs.

“The last time we played them, they were blocking a lot of balls,” Bratt said. “A lot of our guys had never seen blocking like that before.

“But we got back here behind a lot of hard work and dedication. We definitely accomplished something.”

The Champions had 14 blocks in the quarterfinal match, led by senior middle blocker Tate Myatt (8 kills, 6 blocks). Senior outside hitter Liem Doan (12 kills, 4 digs, 3 aces), junior outside hitter Richy Barwicki (9 kills, 3 blocks, 5 digs), and junior setter Martin Nguyen (33 assists, 2 kills, 3 blocks) were also big for Lane Tech, which used an 8-1 run in the third set to pull away to a 19-11 lead.

Senior outside hitter Mergen Purevsuren (11 kills, 4 digs), junior opposite side hitter Marko Polovina (4 kills, 2 blocks), and senior setter Mark Gheorghita (35 assists, 5 digs) also contributed to the Tigers.

“The season was based on hard work in the gym,” Purevsuren said. “Coach has been doing this for a long time. We got here by playing for each other, and we created a good bond based on family.”