The OPRF boys’ volleyball team did not go down without a fight in its state quarterfinal match against highly favored Naperville North on Saturday, falling in straight games 25-21, 25-20, before a Naperville North-partisan crowd at Hoffman Estates High School. It was the fourth straight year that OPRF had qualified for the tournament.
The Huskies (22-18) came out with a no-holds-barred game plan, running a quick offense and a very aggressive service game. First-year coach Don August said, “We expected a good match, and knew we had to play well. We simply made too many errors on serves and some passes.”
The start of the first game forecasted the tempo of the match as the two teams traded points. Neither team was ahead by more than two points until Naperville (37-4) established a 13-10 lead. At 16-11, August called a timeout to refocus his team. The very next point senior hitter Chris Lewis capitalized on a tailor-made assist from sophomore setter Adam Smallheizer by rifling a spike past two leaping Naperville North defenders.
After the Huskies surrendered the next two points to make the score 18-12, they went on an 8-3 run, looking their most dominant in the match.
Following a well-aimed tip by junior hitter James Clark, which fell out of the reach of two diving defenders, the Huskies added a decisive kill by junior hitter Brian Schmidt. Naperville then made an impressive dig on a tough serve from Smallheizer, setting up their top hitter. But OPRF senior hitter Steve Gee skied into the air and blocked the spike straight back into the exposed midsection of the Naperville hitter, prompting a Naperville timeout.
Following the timeout, Gee and Lewis both had kills to draw the Huskies within one, at 21-20. But Naperville quickly regained the momentum, winning four out of the next five points to take the game 25-21.
The Huskies came out in the second game determined to turn the match in their favor, building an early 9-5 lead. An offensive barrage by Naperville, though, gave them the lead at 15-12. After an OPRF time out, the Huskies took the next three points to tie the game at 15, but Naperville North re-established its lead and went on to win 25-20.
Three OPRF players posted match-high numbers: Smallheizer had 21 assists, Lewis eight kills, and Gee two blocks.
Although this was a season-ending loss, it was not an inauspicious one for the Huskies. “It was a rewarding season,” said August, “and we improved week by week.”
August had been uncertain about the setter position at the start of the season, but eventually found his man in Smallheizer, who, he explained, “had no experience at the position at any level of play?#34;not junior varsity, not even junior high?#34;but took it over, bought in to what we were trying to do, and really gave us the stability we needed to be aggressive. And that was our philosophy all along?#34;to develop a style of play that would allow us to be aggressive.”
The Huskies lose captains Lewis and Gee to graduation. But they will have four starters from this year’s team returning for next season in Smallheizer, and junior hitters Ryan O’Malley, Schmidt, and Clark.