Buffalo Grove heading back to state

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Coach Matt Aiello would like to turn Buffalo Grove into a boys volleyball dynasty.

The No. 4 Bison is off to a pretty good start by clinching their first repeat trip to the state tournament.

Second-seeded Buffalo Grove rallied to beat top-seeded Glenbrook North 18-25, 25-15, 25-20 in the Highland Park Sectional final Tuesday night.

Nick Baronti had a team-high 11 kills and Chris Shanahan added eight kills for the Bison (30-5), the defending state runner-up.

Chris Falknor, who had six kills, became the first Bison player to start for back-to-back state quarterfinalists. In a sectional final featuring a pair of last year's state quarterfinalists, Falknor was the only returning starter from both teams.

"This is a huge thrill," Falknor said. "I can't put into words how much of an honor this is. Coming into the season we did not expect much."

One of Buffalo Grove's biggest surprises was 6-foot-5 freshman middle Sam Wacker, who had three blocks and a kill in his varsity debut. Back-to-back blocks by setter Dan Wichmann and Wacker gave the Bison a 22-16 lead in the third set.

"I'm really proud of these guys," said Aiello, a former BG setter. "We lost some of our best players in program history, but they have taken us back to the state championship tournament."

The Bison will make its sixth state tournament appearance and fourth this decade. Buffalo Grove will play Glenbard North in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Hoffman Estates.

No. 7 Glenbrook North (33-6) took its only previous meeting against the Bison, a 26-24, 19-25, 18-16 win in the season-opening Bison Battle on March 28.

Senior middle hitter Colin Cullitan had a career-high 16 kills for GBN, but also committed six service errors. Stephen Carrington had eight kills and Emmett O'Keefe added six kills for the Spartans.