Sometimes, there’s no explanation. No motivational speeches or special plays drawn on the sidelines.
“I’d like to able to say that we made some brilliant strategy changes when we were down 9-2, but the kids just came back and played well,” said Rolling Meadows volleyball coach Mike Duellman after his Mustangs rallied to beat No. 3 Fremd 9-15, 15-11, 16-14 Tuesday night at Rolling Meadows.”
Fremd led 9-2 in Game 2 before the Mustangs (1-1) won 13 of the last 15 points to even the match. The Mustangs also fell behind early in the final game before rallying and holding off the Vikings.
Shawn Monroe led the attack with 12 kills and seven blocks while Jason Kopkowski chipped in with 12 kills. Eric Tellschow led Fremd (0-1) with 18 kills and eight blocks.
Prospect d. Buffalo Grove 6-15, 15-6, 15-7: No. 6 Prospect (1-0) took command and swept the final two games after eliminating nervousness. “We had some first-game jitters,” said Prospect coach Mike Riedy. “But once we cleared the cobwebs, we started playing our game.”
Senior Chris Faust led a strong front-row attack with 14 kills and five blocks. He had five kills during a 12-0 Game 2 run and added several critical shots late in Game 3, when the Knights closed with five unanswered points.
Kevin Kowal added seven kills and 20 assists for the Knights. Scott Miller paced Buffalo Grove (1-1) with eight kills; Matt Aiello added seven kills and 20 assists.
Providence d. St. Ignatius 15-2, 15-4: Rhyen Staley led No. 2 Providence (1-0) with six assists, three kills and three service aces.
Glenbrook North d. Notre Dame 15-9, 15-6: Dmitry Zelechonok had 10 kills and Miles Delaney 30 assists to lead the fifth-ranked Spartans (1-0) over Notre Dame (0-1).
Brother Rice d. St. Francis de Sales 15-4, 15-8: Tenth-ranked Brother Rice won its opener behind 17 assists from Matt Campbell and five kills apiece by Dave Neberieza and Sean Collins.
Conant d. Wheeling 15-11, 15-13: Tim Harte had eight kills and Steve Long seven for Conant in its opener.
Kelvyn Park d. Simeon 15-0, 15-7: Hector Rodriguez had five kills and three blocks to lead Kelvyn Park (1-0).
Loyola d. Mt. Carmel 10-15, 15-4, 15-11: In the Catholic League opener, Jamie O’Malley had 23 kills and five aces and Pat Fahey added eight kills.
Palatine d. Hoffman Estates 15-13, 15-12: Dan Gavin had seven kills as Palatine (1-0) topped Hoffman Estates (0-1), which got 10 from Paul Fasshauer.
Schaumburg d. Hersey 13-15, 15-12, 15-12: Eric Hauswirth had 16 kills and Mike Erlander 27 assists to help Schaumburg (1-0) edge Hersey (0-1).
St. Rita d. St. Laurence 15-9, 4-15, 15-0: In a Catholic League opener, Dan Dehoyos led St. Rita with 27 assists and Ed Honan had 15 kills.
Stagg d. Thornton Fractional North 15-1, 15-3: Stagg (1-0) swept T.F. North (1-1) behind 14 assists by Scott Hejna. Blain Duesing added five kills and Barry Dikinson four aces and three kills.
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Waubonsie Valley d. St. Charles 8-15, 15-7, 15-6: In his first match, senior Tyler Hollist had five kills and two blocks for the Warriors (1-0), and Jared Baker had nine assists and nine kills.
Willowbrook d. Leyden 15-3, 15-4: Mike Pecak had 17 assists and Brian Sedlack added eight kills and three blocks to lead Willowbrook (1-0) over Leyden (0-1).
Soccer
Benet 8, Mother McAuley 2: Mary Ellen Schaefer, Katie Holmes and Julie Rath each scored twice for Benet (1-0).
Bremen Invitational: Georgeen Klioris scored the winning goal on a penalty kick and Angie Meglaris also scored as Richards (1-0) edged Tinley Park 2-1.
Warren 2, Highland Park 0: In both teams’ opener, Megan MacAfee’s two goals led Warren.