The Maine South boys volleyball team had an 8-9 record roughly midway through the season, so the Hawks were seeded seventh at the Evanston Sectional.
A lot has changed since then.
“Since then we’ve gone 17-2,” Hawks senior Declan Cannon said. “The start of the year was rough but we’ve picked it up.”
That’s an understatement. The Hawks beat second-seeded Hersey to win a regional title on Wednesday, May 25. Then, two days later, they took on third-seeded Glenbrook North in a sectional semifinal game.
Maine South beat the Spartans 25-23, 25-23, to set up a sectional title game against top-seeded New Trier at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, in Evanston.
“As the year went on, our ball handling got better,” Cannon said. “We started passing well, which made our setters get better passes so we could run the middle from there. We’ve gotten a lot of kills from there.
“It’s also been our defense. We’re blocking well and teams are having a lot of trouble getting past us.”
Cannon, an outside hitter, and junior middle hitter Paul Rzepniewski have benefited from the team’s improved passing, and the Hawks have benefited as a result.
Cannon had 10 kills and 13 digs against Hersey, and seven kills, three blocks, and seven digs against Glenbrook North. Rzepniewski had 11 kills and three blocks against Hersey.
“When we need the ball put away, we go to one of those two kids and they get it done,” Maine South coach Gary Granell said.
“When we can get the ball to our hitters, we have hitters that can hit with anybody, so really it’s just been a matter of getting the ball to the net so we can get it to our hitters.”
Granell has seen Cannon take a step forward in his third varsity season.
“Last year he was good but this year he took his game to a new level,” Granell said. “He’s stronger, he’s jumping higher, and hits the ball down the line better than he has in the past. He’s better at handling the ball.
“He’s an awesome kid, an honor student, and a leader.”
Cannon could play volleyball at the next level, but he’s opted to focus on his academics. He’ll attend Colorado School of Mines, a school of 5,794 undergraduate and graduate students. The average ACT score for incoming freshman is 30.
“It’s an engineering school in Golden, Colorado, a lot of earth energy, and the major I’m currently in is metallurgical and materials engineering,” Cannon said. “Generally, it’s material science and engineering. I’ve loved math and science forever.”
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“The commitment would have been a lot at a school like that. I’ve gone back and forth on it, because I could see myself playing volleyball in college but I think it’s the smart choice for me.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press