WW South’s win streak hits 26

Wheaton Warrenville South’s Dave Priest and Eric Luhrsen and Downers Grove North’s Greg Petty are teammates during the club season, but Saturday at the Richards tournament, they found themselves on opposite sides of the net.

“We finally got to play against Greg,” Priest said. “It’s fun to be able to play against your teammates, the guys on your club team.”

It is even more fun to beat them.

Priest, who was named the tournament MVP, had 19 assists and two kills, Luhrsen had eight kills and four aces and Michal Stefanski added four kills and two blocks as No. 1 WW South defeated No. 6 Downers North 25-20, 25-18 to win the tournament title.

The win was No. 26 in a row for WW South (31-2).

“A lot of it is that we knew we would probably have one of the better offenses in the state,” Priest said. “We have a lot of tall guys who can hit the ball. But the biggest thing was going to be if our defense and passing would shape up.

“In Game 2, our passing got there and our defense got there,” he added. “The last point is a good example. (Libero Dan) Eastman makes a diving play to save a ball and (Thomas) Jaeschke is able to put it away in transition.”

Petty and 6-6 junior J.P. Tulacka combined for nine kills in Game 1 to keep North (29-4) even early. But Priest’s dump kill broke a 13-13 tie, and a Luhrsen ace moments later capped a 7-3 run that gave the Tigers a 20-16 cushion.

A kill by Stefanski gave WW South a 10-5 lead in Game 2, and a Jaeschke ace extended the advantage to 22-13. Mitch Pittner’s ace got North within 24-18 before Eastman’s great defensive play set up the match-winner.

Tulacka led North with seven kills, Zach Parik had 19 assists and five digs and Pittner contributed four kills.

“We a very emotional team, and it was quite evident in Game 2 that we couldn’t sustain the emotion after beating Downers South (in the semifinals),” North coach Mark Wasik said. “That and the fact the WW South is relentless with their offense.

“But at the end of the day, this tournament was another step in the right direction,” Wasik added. “I feel that we’re a much better team than we were at the beginning of the year.”

Downers North prevented a possible third meeting of the season between WW South and Downers South by rallying from a 24-22 deficit in Game 3 to defeat the Mustangs 25-22, 20-25, 26-24 in the semifinals.

Petty had 13 kills, including the last three kills of the match, and Tulacka added seven kills for the Trojans, who had lost two previous meetings this season to their archrivals.

“A service error and three zero option passes,” South coach Tony Nevrly said. “What are you going to do? It’s part of the game. I like our effort. We’re playing hard. We’re working hard. We’ll be ready to go come regional.”

Downers South (29-5) rebounded in the third-place match to defeat Addison Trail 29-31, 25-17, 25-20. The Blazers took down Warren 25-23, 25-20 in the quarterfinals before running into a wall against WW South in the semifinals, losing 25-9, 25-18 despite five kills from Dan Flores.

“I think our guys were intimidated (against WW South),” Addison Trial coach Tom Hubner said. “We played well and beat Warren, and then, ‘OK, now we have to play No. 1.’ It’s a mental thing with the kids.”

St. Ignatius (19-14) evened its season series with St. Rita at two matches apiece by defeating the Mustangs 25-20, 25-22 for fifth place. St. Rita (15-17) advanced by outlasting Warren 12-25, 25-20, 25-22 in its consolation semifinal.

“It looked like neither us nor St. Rita wanted to be out on the court,” St. Ignatius coach Mark Johnston said. “I think we just wanted it a little more. No one played that much better than the other. I think our guys just wanted revenge after losing to them in three sets the last time.”

St. Ignatius’ Rimas Grybauskas. St. Rita’s Joe Biros and Warren’s Eduard Ciobanu were among the players named to the all-tournament team.

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