Morton's quickness dooms Bison

Fenton’s Jonathan Carduso knocks the ball over Morton blockers.
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times)

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Morton coach Tony Hornilla hasn’t been blessed with hitters who tower over opponents at the net. He doesn’t have 6-7, 6-8 kids on his roster.

What he has been given are a number of quick and athletic players. With that, he’s developed his own style of volleyball for the Mustangs.

Depending on quickness, precise passes and athleticism, Morton (18-4) displayed its unique game in a 25-15, 25-9 win over visiting Fenton (5-18) on Friday.

"It may be a little unorthodox," Hornilla said. "It may be fast and a little wild. That’s our style. We don’t have height."

Most of the opponents the Mustangs have faced have been taller than them, and they’ve won a majority of those matches.

"It’s about speed and chemistry for us," Morton senior Victor Pina said. "We’re able to confuse taller teams with our speed."

On Friday, the Mustangs’ seniors seemed confused themselves. After Hornilla decided to use only his juniors in Wednesday’s match, the seniors were a bit out of sorts to start against Fenton.

But after battling back-and-forth with the Bison for a while and only led 10-9, Morton rediscovered its groove and went on a 12-3 run. The Mustangs carried that momentum into the second game and won easily.

Sal Diaz (nine assists), Julio Vargas (three kills) and Pina (three kills) led Morton.