With one Class AA title, three more state trophies and a display case bulging with other conference, regional and sectional hardware, Andrew baseball needs no introduction.
But Blaise Bernardi doesn't see why the Thunderbolts shouldn't be getting noticed for another spring sport as well.
"We want to make a name for Andrew volleyball," the junior outside hitter said. "Andrew baseball is always out there and everything, so we're trying to get volleyball in [the news], too."
So far so good for the Thunderbolts, who knocked off visiting Richards 25-12, 25-15 on Monday afternoon.
Coming on the heels of a fifth-place finish over the weekend at the Marist Invitational, that pushed Andrew to 5-1.
Little wonder that coach Troy Hari and his players are bullish on their prospects this season.
"I think we can compete with anybody," Hari said. "I think we can give the big dogs ... a run for their money.
"I'm hoping to go a little bit further in the playoffs. I haven't had this much depth in a long time."
The Thunderbolts lost to perennial power Sandburg in the regional finals last spring and have just one regional title ever, back in 1992. But they have some firepower up front that could help them make some noise in the postseason this year.
Senior Brett Panfil led the way against Richards with nine kills and four blocks.
"Brett, he's my captain, he's my go-to guy," Hari said. "He's one where when he says something, they do it. I haven't had a leader like that in a long time. He's got a presence."
And he's got plenty of help, too.
Bernardi added five kills and two blocks along with five aces, while senior outside hitter Jeff Staley had four kills and four digs. Senior setter Sean Carls had 15 assists.
"We're not a real big team, but we're athletic and we've got some guys who can put it down," Hari said. "[Carls] gets a lot of people involved (and) my hitters are smart."
Richards coach Troy Grevengoed was impressed by the T-bolts.
"They put up a nice offense, kind of threw our blockers off," Grevengoed said.
Richards (1-5) took a 9-8 lead in Game 2, but a Panfil kill tied the score and a Bernardi kill put Andrew back on top to stay.
The Bulldogs are still adjusting to life without graduated all-stater Brendan Styler.
"We have some big shoes to fill as a team, not as an individual right now," Grevengoed said. "We've got some room to grow, but we expect to do that. By the end of the year we should be pulling it together."
Sophomore Majdi Razick had three kills for Richards and fellow soph Steve Kupcikevicius contributed two blocks. John Francis paced the defense with 11 digs, three more than Tim Lecaj.
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