Boys volleyball: Lincoln-Way West spreads the wealth in sweep over Minooka

CHANNAHON – Noah Konopack has a nice problem.

As the setter for Lincoln-Way West, Konopack has to choose between an array of strong hitters throughout a match. That may sound like an issue, but it’s one that Konopack is glad to have.

“I think I can actually bump-set these guys and they will still put it down,” Konopack said after the Warriors’ 25-17, 25-18 nonconference win over Minooka on Monday. “Our three pins [outside hitters] – Connor Jaral, Hunter Vedder and Colin Dargan – have all been up on the varsity since they were sophomores, so they have seen everything.

“I know I just have to get the ball up in the air somewhere and someone will put it down. I try to look for whoever has the best matchup. If I see a weak blocker, that guy might get set 30 times. I try to spread it around as much as I can. We have good middles, too, so I really just have to get the ball up in the air.”

West (10-1) got out to a quick 4-1 lead that grew to 7-3 after a kill by Dargan (5 kills, 2 aces), but Minooka rallied to tie it at 7, the last point an ace by Luke Kirin. West answered with a 4-0 run of its own to take control, and the closest Minooka (4-5) got after that was 18-15.

“We hung in there in both sets until around 11 or 12,” Minooka coach Mike Kargle said. “Considering we have a lot of injuries, and we had two guys – Jayce Moore and Caden Oostema – forced to play setter tonight. I am very proud of our guys. We played pretty well against one of the best teams in the area. That’s why we schedule teams like West. We want to play the best we can during the nonconference part of the season.

“It’s only our ninth match and it’s probably our fourth or fifth different starting lineup. Once we get the guys back from injuries, we should be OK.”

The second set began with a kill by West’s Jaral, who led all players with 10 kills, before an ace by Tyler Mrozek and a kill by Dargan put the Warriors ahead 4-1. Minooka closed it to 9-8 before a 6-1 spurt by West put them firmly in control. Vedder finished with six kills, while Dargan had five and middle Connor Kregul had two kills and three blocks. Andrew Flores had seven digs as well.

“This was a nice way to start off our week,” West coach Jodi Frigo said. “We are starting a tough stretch where we have a big tournament the next three weekends. We’ll definitely be put to the test.

“We spread the ball well tonight, and that’s what we want to do. Including the back row, we have four or five guys on the floor at any time that can attack. Against a three-man block, we can look for the low spots and set the ball to them. Noah does a great job looking for those openings.

“Minooka did a good job with their block, but we were able to get past it enough.”

After coming a match from advancing to state last season, the Warriors aren’t going to sneak up on anyone this year. Konopack, who directs the floor traffic, likes their position.

“We love having the target on our backs,” he said. “We know we have to bring our ‘A’ game every time out. That will do nothing but help us in the postseason because we will be used to seeing everyone’s best. We have four starters returning from a team that almost went to state last year, and we want to take that next step this year.”