State volleyball repeat? Marist has work cut out

Updated: May 16, 2011 8:26PM

A week from today, Marist will begin its quest for a second straight boys volleyball state championship.

Only Sandburg and Wheaton-Warrenville South can boast of back-to-back titles in the sport’s 19-year history.

It’s a tough task, enhanced greatly when you peruse the number of elite teams participating in the Sandburg Sectional.

It’s ridiculously loaded.

As many as seven teams are capable of being crowned sectional champ. From No. 1 seed Sandburg to No. 7 seed Lincoln-Way Central, each has a legit shot of advancing to Hoffman Estates on the weekend of June 3 and 4.

“There are so many great teams,” Marist coach Bob St. Leger said. “All the teams know each other very well. There won’t be any surprises.”

The biggest surprise may be Marist winning the sectional. Less than two weeks ago, Marist had as good a chance as any to run the table. Then disaster hit when senior Jim Mead tore his ACL. In an open-gym incident.

The 6-foot-5 Mead, who will attend volleyball power Lewis University, not only is supremely skilled, he’s a menacing presence. Size, speed, skill ... the young man has it all, according to St. Leger.

“He’s a stud,” said St. Leger, a stud himself at Sandburg during its back-to-back state title run in 1999 and 2000. “He can play any position. But it’s going to be a challenge without him.”

A massive one at that.

However, Mead’s absence provides an opportunity for someone else to step up. In this case, it’s Mead’s younger brother, Matt.

“He’s going to have to play out of position and move from the right side to the middle,” St. Leger said. “But Matt’s a good player and he’ll work hard. We’re working on putting everything in place.”

Some in the volleyball community believe even without Jim Mead the RedHawks are capable of advancing to state.

Sure, the road is filled with major obstacles. But St. Leger still has an elite mix of talent at his disposal.

Kids such as setter Garrett Dempsey, outside hitter Kevin Morrison and libero Kevin Murphy are awfully good.

Dempsey will attend the University of California-San Diego. Morrison leads the team in kills and kill attempts. Murphy will continue his career at Clark College in Iowa.

And junior middle hitter Tony Natalino and sophomore outside hitter John Yerkes are dangerous.

“We still have talent,” St. Leger said. “Even with Jim, so many things have to go your way to get to state. You have to execute and be lucky, too.”

Marist, the No. 2 seed, is 28-5. Two of those defeats came at the Lincoln-Way East Invitational — to Naperville North and Maine South — while Mead was sidelined.

The other three setbacks were to Sandburg twice and a team from Ohio while Mead was healthy.

If Marist can avoid an upset bid from what would be either Lincoln-Way Central or Lincoln-Way West in the regional final, and again to either Lincoln-Way East or Brother Rice in the sectional semifinal, in all likelihood Sandburg will be waiting in the sectional championship. Talk about a potential crowd-pleaser.

The opportunity to play Sandburg a third time provides redemption for Marist. The second time the two powerhouses played, Sandburg took Marist out in its own gym and needed just two games to do it. No doubt the ugly defeat left a bitter taste in the RedHawks’ mouths.

St. Leger, the only high school coach in Illinois to have won a volleyball state championship as a player and coach, wouldn’t admit it, but absorbing those losses to his alma mater produces a greater sting.

“We didn’t play well against them either time,” said St. Leger, 144-34 in five years at Marist. “Hopefully, we’ll get another shot at them. But we’re going to have our work cut out getting there. The way the sectional is set up, with so many great teams, it comes down to us playing better and executing better.”

Are the RedHawks capable of winning seven straight matches in the playoffs, which would produce the elusive back-to-back state titles?

“We haven’t said anything all year about back-to-back state championships,” St. Leger said. “This is a different team, a different year. The guys are working hard. We’ll give it all we’ve got.”

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