Boys volleyball: Balanced attack leads Plainfield East past Minooka in 2 sets

CHANNAHON – The Plainfield East boys volleyball team was able to spread the ball around to its many attackers Thursday, and the result was a 25-20, 25-22 win over Minooka to begin Southwest Prairie Conference action.

Tyler Volling was the main cog in the Bengals machine, as he delivered a team-high 10 kills to go with 12 digs and 14 service points, including a pair of aces. Even when he was serving, Volling was a threat to attack, as he had three of his kills from the back row after he had served.

“That’s something we work on in practice a little bit,” East coach Jeff Wilkie said about the back-row attack. “It’s not our top priority, but sometimes that’s where the ball is and we have to attack from the back row.

“Tyler, Nathan Grutza and Jace Milka are our big three, but the key for us is that everyone sticks together as a group. It’s not just those three guys. Everyone has to stay focused.”

East (6-3, 1-0 SPC) used four points by Volling to take a 5-1 lead, and the advantage grew to 15-8 before Minooka rallied.

The Indians got the serve back on a block by Bailey Stengel, and with Ben Hoover at the service line, scored six straight points, including a pair of kills by Cade Ooms (two of his six in the match) and an ace by Hoover, to tie it at 15.

East answered with a run of its own, with Volling serving. He had both of his aces and a back-row kill in a six-point serving stretch that put the Bengals up 22-15. Minooka closed to within 23-20 on the strength of back-to-back kills by Logan Crowther and Jayce Moore, but East scored the final two points, the last on a block by Daniel Haughlan to take the first set.

Oooms and Crowther led Minooka with six kills apiece, with Moore adding three.

“Our kids fought hard,” Minooka coach Mike Kargle said. “There’s no shame in losing to a team like Plainfield East. They have some talent, and they are well-coached.

“Our kids never gave up, and this is the best we have played all year. We are pretty young. Our setter [Jason Riley] is only in his second year of setting, and last year was only about a half a season. He keeps getting better, and this was a big match for Logan Crowther. He and Cade Ooms are two of our senior leaders, and they are playing like it.”

In the second set, Minooka had the advantage throughout the early going, forcing a Plainfield East timeout after an ace by Ooms gave the Indians a 15-12 lead. East rallied to tie it at 15 on a kill by Kyle Ambray, a block by Grutza and a kill by Grutza, who finished with six kills and 12 assists. Thomas Tagtmeyer added 10 assists for the Bengals, while Milka had five kills.

The score was tied at 15, 16, 17 and 18 before East got a kill by Grutza and then a block and a kill by Volling for a 20-18 lead. Minooka tied it at 20, and East got the serve back on a Minooka net violation. Volling then served and sandwiched a pair of back-row kills around a kill by Milka for a 24-20 lead. Minooka pulled to within 24-22, but a serving error ended the match.

“We were a little flat tonight,” Wilkie said. “Our energy level wasn’t where I would like us to have it. But we were balanced in our attack again, and that’s what we like to be. If we can spread things out, then teams can’t double block our hitters and it opens things up for everyone.”