Paul Chmura and Sandburg let out a roar at the Brother Rice Smack Attack, and the rest of the state’s title contenders should take notice.
After topping SouthWest Suburban foes Lincoln-Way North and Lincoln-Way Central to reach the 24-team finals, Chmura posted 11 kills to hand top-seeded Glenbard West its first loss of the season in a thrilling 25-13, 16-15, 25-20 championship match Saturday at Saint Xavier University.
“That was the best moment of my career,” Chmura said of landing the match-winning kill.
It’s quite a statement from the reserved 6-foot-1 outside hitter. Chmura is among the best six-rotation players in the state and was rewarded tournament MVP for his efforts.
“Paulie deserves it,” Sandburg coach Sean Airola said. “He’s been our rock for four years.”
Few gave Sandburg (14-4) a fighting chance against Glenbard West (16-1), which dropped just a single set all season — to Addison Trail — before losing in a back-and-forth affair to Sandburg in Game 3.
“Everyone was telling us we were going to get smoked,” Chmura said. “No. Just because they’re No. 1 in state doesn’t mean you play relaxed and let them beat you.
“Our ball control was phenomenal and our blocking was awesome. We were all connecting and playing hard.”
Sandburg’s 6-9 Jake Hanes turned in arguably the best match of his career with 10 kills and four aces. Grant Burden dished 27 assists, Kyle Van Stedum had seven kills and Colin Ensalaco seven digs.
Kyler Kotsakis led Glenbard West with 12 kills and an ace. Jackson Nagle chipped in seven kills and setter Paulie Bischoff contributed four kills and a block. Kotsakis and Bischoff were named all-tournament.
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“Holy cow, it’s so awesome to play a team like that,” Glenbard West coach Christine Guinta-Mayer said. “We said we’re not invincible. We’re not. We know how good the competition is out there. We weren’t expecting to not get a loss. We were just hoping it wasn’t (Saturday).”
Hanes, an all-tournament selection, played a huge part in Sandburg’s victory with a hammer of a serve. He blasted two aces in Game 1 and two consecutive in Game 3 to give Sandburg a 10-6 lead.
“It just kind of all came together,” Hanes said of his jump serve. “I could hit it with my elbow and it would have stayed inbounds.”
“They broke down our serve-receive,” Guinta-Mayer said, “and we hadn’t been broken down before.”
A dump from Bischoff tied the action in Game 3 at 11, but Sandburg ripped off four straight behind a kill from Chmura and a block from Burden.
Neither team scored more than three straight after that until a tip from Hanes and back-to-back kills from Chmura gave Sandburg a 24-18 lead.
“We played the best we’ve played collectively,” Airola said. “They’re not the No. 1 team for nothing. We held our own.”
In other action, Naperville Central (16-6) defeated Lincoln-Way Central (15-6) for third place, with the Redhawks avenging a three-game defeat to the Knights two days prior.
Lincoln-Way North (16-5) topped Glenbrook North (13-9) for fifth behind another all-tournament effort from Ethan Klosak, his third this season.
Reigning Smack Attack champion Brother Rice (11-8) downed Indiana’s defending state champion, Chesterton, for seventh. Chesterton (17-3) entered the Smack Attack undefeated but dropped matches to Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way North.
Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.