Andrew coach Emily McGinnis had only heard about Sanil Thomas before taking over earlier this year. Now McGinnis is seeing firsthand what one of the top players in the Southland is capable of delivering.
“I had honestly never seen him play,” said McGinnis, who also coaches Andrew’s girls team. “Even as an assistant coach at St. Rita the last three years, I don’t know if we ever crossed paths with Andrew. … And then I saw him play and I was very, very impressed.”
Thomas made sure Andrew opened its season on the right foot. The Ohio State recruit posted eights kills and 15 assists as Andrew outlasted Oak Forest 25-22, 20-25, 25-19 Tuesday night in Tinley Park.
The victory was just a little bit sweeter for Thomas and Andrew’s other holdovers. Oak Forest swept the Thunderbolts last season, the third match coming in a regional semifinal.
“I didn’t think about it too much, but it’s always in the back of your head,” Thomas said. “Coming in, you think you had never beat that team, so this feels good.”
Thomas had plenty of help. Sean Yerkes totaled 17 assists and eight digs, and sophomores Joe Jendra and Conrad Gadula added six kills apiece in their first varsity action for Andrew (1-0).
Jake Olson led the way for Oak Forest (1-1) with a match-high 17 kills. Colin Sullivan had 12 digs and Josh Bilinao 18 assists and five digs.
“Most of those sophomores have never seen a guy like Sanil hit the ball that hard,” Oak Forest coach Lee Rucinski said. “He got his, but he didn’t destroy us.”
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With Oak Forest keeping sight of Thomas throughout the match, Olson managed to open some eyes of his own. The outside hitter had a dominant second game that he finished with back-to-back kills.
“We definitely have to play more defense than last year, but we’re still that power team swinging away,” Olson said.
Olson did his best to keep Oak Forest in contention in the third game, but Thomas and Gadula recorded two kills each over the final eight points to close the match.
“They were better than we thought,” Thomas said. “We didn’t think they would be that strong, but their outside (Olson) was very good.”
The Bengals opened their season with a win over Homewood-Flossmoor and look better than expected after graduating Jeff Sprayberry, the South Suburban Conference Player of the Year, and a strong senior class.
“I think (Olson) is going to fly under the radar until people start seeing him,” Rucinski said. “He’s six inches shorter than Sprayberry, but his game is right up there.”
Sean Fitzpatrick added five kills for Andrew, which graduated a star of its own. Middle hitter Nick VanderZanden is now at Lewis.
Marist 26-25, Providence 24-22: Brian Barry (11 digs) had nine kills and Aaron Kummer added 25 assists to spark visiting Marist (1-0).
Shepard 25-25, Marian Catholic 20-10: Chad Longfield contributed five kills for visiting Shepard (1-0).
Argo 21-25-25, T.F. United 25-20-17: Andy Kubinski totaled six kills and six blocks to propel host Argo (1-1, 1-1) in the South Suburban match.
Stagg 25-25, Richards 18-16: Pat Roach (5 aces) registered six assists and Mike Neputy put down six kills to boost visiting Stagg (1-0). Colton Stermer posted seven kills for Richards (0-1).
Boys Water Polo
Sandburg 8, St. Rita 7: Majd Ibrahim netted a hat trick and Nick Jackson made 15 saves to guide visiting Sandburg (4-0). Eric Johnson scored three times for St. Rita (6-4).
Naperville North 11, Lockport 9: Zach Elias put in five goals to pace visiting Lockport (6-1).
Girls Water Polo
Homewood-Flossmoor 6, Lincoln-Way East 5: Amber Barney (3 goals) scored with 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining to lift host Homewood-Flossmoor (3-6, 2-0) in the SouthWest Suburban Blue.
Women’s Basketball
Limestone (S.C.) 61, Lewis 58: Alexus Grayer (5 rebounds) scored 14 points and Kristin Itschner (6 rebounds) had 13 to lead Lewis (31-3) in the NCAA Division II quarterfinal in Sioux Falls, S.D. Mariyah Brawner-Henley tacked on eight points and 13 rebounds for the Flyers.
Men’s Volleyball
St. Xavier 25-25-25, Trinity International 9-12-20: Sam Kull set school records for aces in a match (10) and career points (1,020) in leading host St. Xavier (11-14, 8-6) in the Great Lakes Conference. Kull finished with six kills and 18 points (kills, blocks and aces), while Justin Parra dished out 25 assists.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed to this story.