Minooka takes down Red Devils

Updated: April 22, 2011 2:00PM

Minooka is trying to establish a new identity after graduating 6-foot-4 outside hitter Matt Phillips, who guided the Indians to a fourth-place finish at last year's state tournament.

Wednesday at Hinsdale Central, Minooka (7-2) took another step in that direction by defeating the host Red Devils 25-22, 18-25, 25-15.

"This is a very different team than last year," said Minooka head coach Janel Grzetich. "Especially in our first few matches, we were trying to figure out our identity, instead of riding the coattails of somebody who is not here.

"I think we have more combined talent than last year's team," Grzetich added. "We're finally figuring out how to utilize each others talents."

Senior setter Jordan Smith was a role player as a junior. Wednesday, he played a big role with 27 assists, six kills and three blocks.

"Jordan is definitely stepping up as a leader," Grzetich said. "He's not a real loud kid. I think of his role as an extension of the coaches on the court. He's become a lot more confident stepping into that role."

Smith, who used a series of dump kills effectively in the first two games Wednesday, said that consistency is the key to returning Minooka to the level of success it enjoyed in 2010.

"We have a lot of good players on this team," Smith said. "We have two real good outside hitters (Brandon Toth and Kevin Hannon) and our middles (6-6 John Savickas and Rick Bishop) are as good as any two middles around.

"We just have to keep up our intensity and stay scrappy," he added. "Once I get a little more consistent, we'll be a lot better."

Savickas had seven kills and two blocks and Hannon added eight kills for the Indians, who used a 14-5 run in Game Three to break a 5-5 tie.

"We have some great hitters," Smith said. "I just have to get them the ball."

Hinsdale Central, which also graduated some key players from last year's including 6-5 All-Area selection Graham McIlvaine, fell to 4-6 despite 11 kills and three blocks from 6-1 senior Andrew Regnery.

"It was a tough loss in the third game," Regnery said. "We switched up our lineup to find out who wants to be on the court. Once we find out who it is, we'll be a very competitive team. Otherwise we will continue to struggle."

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