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Naperville North puts away Oak Park
Updated: June 3, 2011 10:23PM
Whether it was nervous energy or just anxiety, Naperville North’s Shane Witmer could not wait to play his team’s quarterfinal against Oak Park-River Forest Friday at the boys volleyball tournament at Hoffman Estates.
“I thought it was good just getting out there,” Witmer said. “Obviously, it was the first time here for all of us. But it was good playing the first match of the day. I think it would have been tougher if we had to sit around and wait.”
Oak Park-River Forest made it tough enough on Naperville North, rallying from a first-game loss to force a third set. But Witmer and the “other” Huskies were just too tough, closing out Oak Park’s season with a 25-17, 23-25, 25-19 victory.
“I think we all kind of did have jitters,” Witmer said. “I think it was good that we went to the other gym, warmed up and worked up a little sweat. I think we were a little nervous.”
Nervous or not, Witmer had 16 kills, 10 digs and a block, Spencer Sauter added 11 kills and eight digs and Steve Massoni had 39 assists for Naperville North (29-11), which advances to play Vernon Hills in a 10 a.m. semifinal Saturday.
Naperville North coach Nate Bornancin suffered a few anxious moments when Oak Park (27-13) grabbed a quick lead in Game 3, calling a timeout with his team down 5-1.
“They fought hard and played their best match,” Bornancin said. “But it really started after that first timeout. We started battling back, we didn’t make hitting errors, we started playing smart and keeping the ball in play. Everyone was playing smart. Everyone came through toward the end.”
A kill by libero Danny Boryca broke a 12-12 tie in Game 3 and Oak Park never led again. A kill by Sauter and a service error set the stage for Witmer to finish the match with a thunderous kill to the deck.
Owen Brady led Oak Park with 11 kills, Ben Wilks had nine kills and Diego Rodriguez-Guerrios added 27 assists, nine digs and an ace.
“It was a tough loss, but we felt we played as hard as we could,” Wilks said. “Maybe not as good as we could, but we were happy with our effort. Obviously, it did end up the way we wanted it to, but it was a good season for us.”
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