For those in attendance at Schaumburg’s boys volleyball sectional semifinals Saturday, they were treated to an action-packed doubleheader that at the conclusion saw both Hersey and Lake Park earn three-set victories to procure a return to the Saxons’ home floor in Tuesday evening’s sectional final.
Hersey d. Maine South, 20-25, 25-12, 25-23:
After dropping game one, ninth-seeded Hersey used a strong bounce-back effort in the second set to get themselves to a game three.
That’s when a feed from senior setter Ryan Cramer found his fellow recent Hersey grad Jack Stolzer to give the Huskies (23-16) a 16-15 lead from which it never looked back. Cramer added two more of his game-high 7 assists and Stolzer (block, dig) finished the decisive stretch with his game-high ninth kill that gave Hersey its first appearance in the round of 16 since 2017.
In addition it avenged a home loss to the Hawks just four weeks ago in the final of the Huskies’ own invite.
“I’m super proud of the boys, they did everything we asked them to do,” Hersey coach Laura Gerber said. “We had such a great second set and then it was so tight, back and forth, in the third set and our guys held it together. We had some amazing shots (and) played some great defense. So excited to be in the Sweet 16. It’s been a long time. These guys deserve it. They’ve been working hard and we’re thrilled to have the chance.“
Northern Kentucky recruit Leo Trespeces-Winck led the way for the No. 5 Hawks (27-12) sharing game-high kill honors with 9 in addition to a block and a dig in his final game.
Stolzer, a Milwaukee School of Engineering signee, gave plaudits to his team’s focus.
“The urgency has been there,“ Stolzer said. ”One point at a time. It doesn’t matter the score. We stay disciplined, we stay ready. Our energy is high-no matter what. I love this group so much. I’m loving every second of it and I just want to keep going.”
Lake Park d. Conant, 26-24, 19-25, 25-14: After sixth-seeded Conant battled back to even the second semifinal bout with Lake Park, the No. 2 Lancers (27-11) used a 10-3 tear in the third game to open up a 17-8 advantage.
That allowed to them to wear down the Cougars as their front court of seniors Carter Gibbons, Michael Ogorzalek, and Dylan Roszak combined for 8 kills in putting both the game and the match on ice for their first sectional final berth since 2021.
They also avenged a loss at Conant three weeks ago. Lake Park had beaten Conant last month in pool play at the Glenbard East tournament.
“A few weeks ago it was (making) too many errors on common things where we look back at film and almost laugh at,” Lake Park coach Brian Fischer said.
“It was just things we took away from it. Making sure we take care of business when we’re supposed to when we get out in those situations. We’re very grateful to be able to come back Tuesday and play. Hersey is a very good team.”
Conant (24-10) was led by a pair of outside hitters in senior Bryce Grogan and freshman Kaloyan Kotev with 8 kills apiece.
Gibbons, a Carthage recruit, paced the Lancers with a game-high 14 kills, 3 aces, 2 assists, and a block followed by Ogorzalek with 8 kills and 2 digs.
“Everything becomes complete once we put together all those pieces and that’s why we have a whole team of hitters around me,” Gibbons said. “It’s definitely a great feeling.”