There are many ways a player can contribute on the Highland Park boys volleyball team. Acting like a hero is not one of them.
“If there’s an out-of-system ball, and you are falling backwards, don’t try and blast it over the net,” senior middle blocker Ari Hoffman said. “Just keep it in play and live for another point. No hero balls.”
Team play is essential for the Giants in 2015. This is a starless team, one that must play to maximum potential to win.
Monday night was a good example. Hosting Central Suburban North foe Niles North, the Giants dominated from the start. Highland Park’s back row defense of juniors Ben Wellek (eight digs) and Ryan Chiou (14 digs) played well, initiating offense. Senior setter Caleb Goldstein (23 assists) consistently placed passes for Hoffman (seven kills) and senior outside hitter Zack Pollack (six kills) to put down.
The 25-17, 25-15 victory revealed how good the Giants can be when they play loose and error free.
“We just cleaned things up. We had a lot of these little errors, hitting, passing and setting,” Goldstein said. “We minimized our errors and let them do all the work.”
Giants coach Kyle Muldoon added: “It was good to see that kind of volleyball. Now I’m going to expect it more as I wasn’t sure we had that.”
It’s understandable why Muldoon might be pessimistic. Before the win over the Vikings, the Giants had lost 11 of their first 14 matches. At Friday and Saturday’s Lake County Invitational at Grant and Lakes, Highland Park finished 1-4 (its only victory coming against Mundelein).
The Giants were shorthanded over the weekend. Chiou and Wellek missed all three Saturday matches because of ACT testing, and Highland Park’s defense suffered as a result.
“We had our top ball-control guys out, so it made things very difficult,” Hoffman said. “We had to play Ari [Hoffman] on the back row. We struggled to get anything going.”
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The Giants lost nine of 11 games in four matches. The draw was formidable as Highland Park faced eventual tournament champion Zion-Benton as well as strong area teams Stevenson and Carmel. That’s why the Niles North match couldn’t have come at a better time.
Highland Park believes it has a roster that can compete with CSL North bluebloods Glenbrook North and Deerfield. But that will require each player to play at his best, with no designs on being a hero.
“We’ve had to throw a lot of juniors in. Caleb [Goldstein] and I started the first and last match [in 2014]. It’s a process,” Hoffman said. “We need to build on what we do best. Error-free volleyball, keep the ball in play, let them make the mistakes. No hero balls.”
Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer