Something to celebrate: North, Central win tourney titles

BUFFALO GROVE -- Naperville North's boys volleyball team certainly didn't lack energy during its first conquest of the young season.

North rode a wave of momentum to capture the championship at Buffalo Grove's Bison Battle on Saturday in a tournament littered with potential state contenders.

Every point the Huskies scored during the championship match against Glenbrook North, ignited a mini-celebration. The culmination occurred when Jon Bunge slammed home the final point to secure the Huskies' 25-16, 25-19 victory against the Spartans.

"We were just connecting," Bunge said. "We just played and had fun. When you get caught in the moment, you can do anything."

Game 1 went back and forth before attacks from Bunge and Mike Henry helped the Huskies rattle off eight straight points to take a 16-9 advantage. Glenbrook North coach Chris Cooper used his two allotted timeouts, but it didn't slow the Huskies as they closed out the opener.

"We started off those first three matches (in pool play) relatively quick, but this was the first time we really ran into a team that started off really hot," Cooper said.

The Huskies (3-2) carried the momentum into Game 2 and took an 8-2 lead as they hooted and hollered after each point they scored.

Coach Roger Strausberger eventually had to tell his team to calm down.

"We just have to be respectful and not be too loud and obnoxious," Bunge said. "We have to keep our intensity on our side of the floor and we'll be fine."

Henry said the team constantly feeds off the excitement it generates after a point is scored.

"It makes us want to make plays," Henry said. "Everyone is into the match and then you anticipate where the ball is going more because you can feel out where it is going to go. You just get more into the game and react better."

The Huskies eventually took a 19-9 lead in Game 2 before the Spartans (3-1) mounted a rally and pulled to within 22-16, but Bunge and Henry countered with attacks to help seal the game and the match.

Bunge led the Huskies with 11 attacks and five digs. Henry added six attacks and three service aces while setter Mike Buckman dished out 20 assists. Middle hitter Joe Hendrickson added three attacks.

"Their outside hitters just killed us," Cooper said. "We couldn't stop (Henry) and (Bunge)."

Henry said the Huskies were on a mission of sorts after they let a 16-7 lead slip away in Game 3 of their season-opening match against Neuqua Valley last week.

"It was important to come out (in this tournament) and play well," Henry said. "We had a couple of rough days of practice after Neuqua and we wanted to show that we were better than that match."

The Huskies went 2-1 in pool competition - they beat Schaumburg in three games and North Chicago in two but lost to host Buffalo Grove in three. North, Schaumburg and Buffalo Grove each went 2-1 in pool play, but the Huskies advanced to the championship match by virtue of a tiebreaker.

The Spartans defeated Sandburg, Hersey and Wheaton Warrenville South each in two games to advance out of pool play and into the championship match.

At the Hoffman Estates Invitational on Thursday and Saturday, Naperville Central finished unbeaten with five victories to claim the tournament title.

The Redhawks beat New Trier 19-25, 25-17, 15-5 in the final, rebounding from a tough first-game loss to take the final two frames.

"In the opener we kind of got out of our passing system - we weren't passing as well as we needed to in order to run our offense," first-year Central coach Bryan Johnwick said. "But in the second game, the guys buckled down and focused on the little things, like passing and blocking, and we gained some momentum."

After the Redhawks took the second game, they jumped out to a decisive 13-1 lead in the third.

"We had the momentum on our side - the guys just came out and everything was running at full speed," Johnwick said.

Central advanced to the championship match with pool-play victories over Oak Park-River Forest, Palatine and Leyden before rallying to beat Mundelein 21-25, 25-23, 15-10 in the semifinal round.

In the final two matches of the tournament, Matt Yanz led Central with 18 kills and 12 blocks.

"Matt has kind of been our go-to hitter in tough situations this year. He's done an excellent job of finding the hole in the defense and putting the ball down," Johnwick said.

Mike Brdicka added 12 kills and 10 blocks and setter Victor Lei dished out 44 assists in the semifinal and final combined.

Central improved to 6-0 on the season. And like area rivals Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley, the Redhawks will compete at the prestigious Tiger Classic next weekend at Wheaton Warrenville South.

"I'm really satisfied with our start, but we know we have a lot left to work on," Johnwick said. "The kids are really excited. The Tiger Classic will be a great chance to see where we fit in against some of the top teams in the state."