Standout middle hitter Joe Kenzinger believes Brother Rice carries enough firepower to make a deep postseason run.
An area of concern, however, is making sure the Crusaders don’t get intimidated when competing against another legitimate state title contender.
That’s how Kenzinger felt Saturday’s championship match at the 24-team Smack Attack played out. Two-time reigning state champ Glenbard West rolled past Brother Rice 25-16, 25-14 at St. Xavier.
“As much as I don’t want to say it, I think it might have been fear,” said Kenzinger, a 6-foot-6 Lewis recruit. “Glenbard West — the big bad villains of volleyball. I think it was fear and we couldn’t really get our offense going. They’re big guys.”
Kenzinger put down five kills for the Crusaders (18-5), who hung tough midway through Game 1 before Glenbard West (16-1) seized control behind tournament MVP Sean Farmer.
“We’ve been playing really good volleyball,” Kenzinger said. “It was good to get a wakeup call.”
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Kenzinger has turned into one of the top middle hitters in the Southland. One of his top assets is his agility, which allows him to cover a vast amount of court for a player his size.
“Joe’s everywhere,” right-side hitter Ryan Banky said. “He’s Superman. He gets a touch on everything. He’s leading the team in blocks without a doubt.”
Banky, meanwhile, is leading the team in kills, just ahead of star outside hitter Jimmy Baker. Banky was quick to give credit to his teammates for putting him in a position to succeed.
“We’re spreading the ball really well with hitters all over the court,” Banky said. “With Jim and Joe, it helps our offense as a whole so everyone can get good touches. We spread the block out because teams are sticking with Joe and we get one-on-ones at the pins.
“Forget that match. We’re going to learn from it and move on.”
Kyle Springer chipped in seven kills and Tom Kleist added eight digs and three aces for Brother Rice.
Meanwhile, Lincoln-Way East (17-5) defeated Glenbrook North for third behind all-tournament performer Ian Piet. Mike Fowler added 46 digs throughout the tournament, while explosive middle hitter and Mike Herlihy helped control the net.
“Our guys are always telling me, ‘Try to get touches. Try to get touches,'” said Herlihy, a junior who can reach 11-foot-3. “So I’m doing my best to get some blocks to help those guys in the back row.”
East played without outside hitter Jason Szara and hope X-rays come back negative for starting setter Jake Snyder, who played half the rotations after a teammate landed on his thumb.
Lincoln-Way Central (18-5) finished sixth, while Marist (18-4) defeated Lincoln-Way West (14-4) for seventh.
Logan Malloy is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.