Boys Volleyball: Lincoln-Way West outlasts Andrew
By Tim O’Brien For Sun-Times Media May 2, 2012 10:18PM
Lincoln-Way West's Dave O'Brien (left) hits the ball against Andrew's Nick VanderZanden. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: June 4, 2012 11:52AM
Lincoln-Way West’s Joel McGuire had seen one lead squandered already in Wednesday’s SouthWest Suburban Red match at Andrew.
When it appeared another lead was about to be wasted, the senior outside hitter made sure the Warriors held on. Coming through with a service ace and a huge block, McGuire helped turn the tide late in West’s 25-27, 25-13, 25-20 victory.
“We were struggling there a bit,” McGuire said. “We’ve left room for improvement, though, and we want to get better toward the end of the year. Once we get everybody connecting, we’ll hopefully be going to state.”
McGuire (12 kills), Grayson Dewey (25 assists), Danny Murphy (9 kills, 8 digs), and Dave O’Brien (7 kills) paced West (21-3, 6-1). Casey Bormet (13 kills, 13 digs), Sanil Thomas (30 assists) and Chris Pajak (19 digs) led host Andrew (11-10-1, 4-3).
Thanks to an impressive Dewey service run (6 service points), West was sitting pretty in Game 1, only to see Andrew face game point five times and eventually squeak out the win, thanks to a game-closing 9-1 run and a Thomas kill.
West dominated Game 2, and looked to be doing the same in Game 3, but the Thunderbolts had one more rally. Tied at 18, McGuire’s huge block and a service ace turned the momentum back for West. Dewey’s fourth kill closed the match.
“The ace I just tried to put the ball between the libero and the right side,” McGuire said. “Both went for it, and it caused a little confusion, which is what we were going for.”
Showing glimpses of putting together all-around play, Andrew coach Troy Hari was encouraged with his team’s performance.
“This was a great game of momentum,” Hari said. “We’re right there (clicking), and we’re getting to it. Sanil is setting a great offense, but sometimes passing breaks down for us (as a team).”
