New Trier’s boys volleyball team has been crushing one team after the other on their way to the state tournament. Even though they had a choppy start to the season with a few injuries, the strength has returned as evident by their latest victory against Maine South.
The varsity boys volleyball team head coach, Sue Ellen Haak, predicts a powerful win for this year’s team. “We have one of the best teams in a very long time. We have outstanding senior leaders this year and we are really coming together. We work very hard, and the fruits of their labor are really paying off,” said Haak.
The team stands united in their victories. Defensive specialist and senior Harley Friesen said, “I would say I performed well, but it’s not about me; the team did very well as a whole.” Friesen also gave credit to junior middle and outside hitter Jack Serrino and senior outside hitter Carlos Zambrano.
“We recently won the Downers Grove South Tournament,” Friesen said. “Carlos Zambrano and Jack Serrino were huge factors in our wins.” Serrino has been in the spotlight for much of the season for his ability to deliver hit after hit.
Haak was particularly proud of the team in the Downers Grove South Tournament. “There were 24 teams in the tournament and its one of the oldest [tournaments],” Haak said. “We won the whole tournament and we haven’t done that since 2007.”
Haak mentioned the senior team captains as the reason for these outstanding wins. “I have great captains, seniors Matt Wascher, Mike Gajos, and Carlos Zambrano. They’re outstanding leaders, super calm, and respond well under pressure. They have been pushing the team to play at the highest level, so we’ve had a great season so far.”
Another big victory was over Glenbrook North on April 12. “Glenbrook North, they are the best team in the state,” Friesen said. “We beat them in two sets, 27-25 and 25-22, a couple of weeks ago and we were unsure why they were still the best team in the state for rankings this week, but time will change that.”
Haak also talked about the game against Glenbrook North. “We beat Glenbrook North on their home court, and it’s been the first time we’ve won on their court, at least since the coaching staff has been here,” Haak said. “They were the number one ranking team in the state at that time. It was really exciting because we played well and it was a tough, almost hostile fan environment.”
Initially, injuries were the opponent the team faced. “In the beginning one of our starter senior captains, Carlos Zambrano, hurt his ankle so he ended up being out for almost 2 weeks. We didn’t have a back-up that played that position, so we had to move players around,” Haak said.
That wasn’t the only injury the team faced this season. “A couple days later a setter got a concussion, and one of our back row passers hurt his wrist,” Haak said. “We ended up having three guys in the mix that were playing a lot unable to play; we were a little banged up, trying to make it work and were basically hanging in there.”
After the recoveries, the team has been able to play steady and strong. The scores have not been fluctuating with the teams, but have been at a continuous steady high. Haak is particularly proud of the performance by the team. “Probably the thing that I’m most proud of is that we’re playing just so steady, it doesn’t matter who our opponent is, we’re not flowing with the other team; we’ve just been playing the same all the time and our ball control is very high,” said Haak. “We make very few errors so it’s hard for teams that have some weaknesses to beat us.”
There are three weeks remaining of regular season play until May 21, 2013, the start of the State Tournament, which is a two week tournament. In order to win the state tournament the team will have to continue their winning streak and win seven games in a row.