Good start for Redhawks, new coach

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Not long ago Naperville Central was an annual state contender in boys volleyball.

It's been 10 years since the Redhawks won their only state championship in 1998 and last season, Central was not a factor in the DuPage Valley Conference race while stumbling through a 16-20 campaign.

All of those facts are not lost on first-year coach Bryan Johnwick, who is trying to instill energy into a program he played for before graduating from Central in 1995.

If Monday's debut is any indication, the Redhawks are headed in the right direction.

Central dismissed visiting Downers Grove North in two games with a 25-17, 25-23 victory in the opener for both schools.

"A lot of [our] guys were hungry to play," Johnwick said. "They are really excited about the season. This school has a lot of tradition as far as the sport and I think we want to kind of bring the Naperville Central name back as a strong volleyball contender in the conference and in the state."

The Redhawks (1-0) never trailed in Game 1. Central opened a 12-7 advantage only to watch Downers North close to within 12-11. Johnwick used a timeout and the Redhawks responded with five straight points to regain control before eventually closing out the game.

Central middles Mike Brdicka and Matt Yanz led the Redhawks' attack. Yanz finished with eight kills and three blocks while Brdicka added five kills and three blocks.

The Trojans (0-1) started strong in the second game behind outside hitter Jay Petty (nine kills), who is headed to Lewis University in Romeoville after this season to continue his career. Petty's two aces and one kill helped Downers North to a 4-1 advantage, but junior setter Victor Lei helped Central battle back.

Lei dished out 23 assists and consistently distributed the ball to his teammates in prime scoring positions.

"Victor does a great job of being the leader out there on the floor," Yanz said. "You can't do very well if the set is not there."

The Redhawks eventually took a 15-10 lead and increased it to 23-19 when the Trojans made one last push and tied the match at 23-23, prompting another timeout from Johnwick.

"We were trying to do some fancy things and trying to run some faster sets instead of doing what we were doing well early," Johnwick said. "We allowed them to get back in the match, but we refocused there at the end."

Central emerged from the timeout calm and composed. An attack and ace from Yanz ended the match.

Yanz said he and his teammates already have noticed a difference compared to last season and some of the new adjustments the coaching staff has made were put to use late in the second game.

"Coach Johnwick has really done a great job of blending last year's team with the new players this season," Yanz said. "He really shows a sense a pride. He wants us to do well. He'll find a way to look at problems we have from this match and he'll push us to fix those problems in practice."

Central also received four kills from Dan Dierking and Joe Thomas added five kills and five digs.