New Trier Boys Volleyball makes a run for State
New Trier Boys Volleyball had a tough road to state, having to push through a strong GBS team.
Instagram/NT Boys Volleyball
New Trier matched up against GBS in the Sectional Semi-Finals, a team that New Trier beat earlier, their only loss of the season
This year, the boy’s volleyball team seemed to return to form with a grueling conference win over GBN, the 2020-21 State Champs on May 10th. After an average 2020-2021 season, where for the first time in six straight years, the team did not qualify for the state finals, the Trevs were able to make a comeback the following year, placing 8th at state. This year the team had a chance to return to the state competition, but they had to first win their sectional, challenging the indomitable GBS team.
The odds seemed stacked against them as GBS had a 37-1 record, and was ranked number 1 in the conference. It looked as if it could be a blowout.
But the Cinderella story ended on May 27 to GBS. In two hotly contested games, New Trier lost 2-0.
The Trevians came to fight. They’ve overcome mountains before.
The team came back from down 9 points to seal the win. In her 23 years with the program, Head coach Sue Haak has never seen such a big comeback before. For some teams in that same situation, after going down 9 points, they would have given up and said maybe next time. Not the Trevs.
A winning mindset was key to this team’s success.
“We are a team that fights hard and expects to win,” said Haak.
This mindset could be attributed to the tough schedule that the Trevs faced this year. Their conference included several top ten teams, which they faced all year. Every match was a dogfight, making the Trevs excellent at winning close games.
GBS’s only loss was actually to New Trier, so when Sectionals came around, there was a very real chance that the Trevs would be going back to State.
They viewed themselves as dangerous,“We view ourselves as a very dangerous Wild Card team. We know that our opponents are going to be worried about playing us and likely to be nervous,” said Haak.
To win, the team needed to come out strong and put the pressure on early.
However, not all hope is lost. According to sophomore James Hayek, the team is looking forward to next year.
“The team is mostly made up of Juniors, so this year isn’t the end of their high school career. Next year, we’ll be back”