Boys volleyball: JCA showcases its depth in 2-set win over Plainfield South

JOLIET – Most of the talk surrounding the Joliet Catholic Academy boys volleyball team centers on the 6-foot-9 Pekol twins, Zach and Luke. That’s with good reason, because it’s hard to miss two players that stand 6-9 and have both committed to play for Lewis University, one of the top men’s college volleyball programs in the country.

What was on display for the Hilltoppers (10-3) during a 25-14, 25-18 win over Plainfield South on Wednesday, however, was a balance of talent that showed that they are much more than just a two-man squad.

Setters Miles Czerkies and Jason Koenings spread the ball around. Yes, the Pekol brothers got plenty of chances. Both finished with four kills and two blocks. But JCA also got strong offensive contributions from Carter Holbrook, Preston Buss, freshman Aydan Garcia, as well as a pair of serving aces from Jacob Medders and one each by Czerkies and Koenings.

“It’s nice to have a lot of weapons,” Czerkies said. “I try to spread it around. We like to try to get it to whoever has the hot hand. A lot of the times, it feels like I can just put it in the air and someone is going to get a kill out of it.

“We were hoping to have a good start to the season, but the way we have played has surprised us a little. For us to beat some of the teams as well as we have beaten them makes us believe that we can start to compete with the big boys.”

JCA never trailed in the match. The Cougars (6-6) were able to tie it at 1 in the first set on a kill by Dominic Krejci, but the closest they got after that was 9-7 after an ace by Emilio Lagunes. Earlier, Brett Jensen had a pair of kills to keep the score close at 6-4.

Midway through the first set, Krejci went down with an injury and did not return. JCA capitalized and got strong play from Holbrook and Buss at the net, along with both Pekol brothers, and cruised to the first-set victory.

“Both of our setters – Jason and Miles – are really smart about spreading the ball around,” Luke Pekol said. “I grew up playing with Miles, not just volleyball but all of the sports. Our team is really close, and we work well together.”

That teamwork showed itself again in the second set. The Hilltoppers grabbed a 3-0 lead on a kill each by Zach Pekol and Buss and increased the advantage to 11-5 and then 17-7. Plainfield South outscored JCA 11-8 the rest of the way, getting kills from Connor Pabon, Lagunes, Alexander Venes and Milan Gracanin, but it was too late.

JCA coach Jeffery Budz was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We have a lot of talent,” he said. “We kind of scare teams when we walk in the gym with Zach and Luke, but then we can go a lot of different ways with a lot of other guys that can really play. We were returning six starters from last year, so we felt like we could have a good year. We struggled in a few matches early, but overall, I like the progress we have made.

“There isn’t much of a drop-off when we bring guys in off the bench. The other night, we had a freshman right side [Garcia] step in and do a good job, and he did it again tonight. We have a lot of energy and weapons, plus great chemistry. All of these guys are good friends off the court. It’s almost annoying how much these kids know about each other.”

Plainfield South coach George Hagemaster felt his team had good spurts but did not maintain them.

“We lost our starting outside, and we were only down five points,” he said. “We had to make do after that. We shuffled the lineup around and had some guys come in and play well.

“But we made a lot of self-inflicted errors. That happens when you start three sophomores. The good thing is we are getting good experience for these young guys.”