Neuqua Valley’s Jeremy Grove didn’t fully hit his groove until reuniting with teammate Andrew Schlegel.
Their chemistry dates back to the freshman A team.
Grove, a senior outside hitter, tallied a career-best 31 kills to spark the Wildcats to a 26-24, 23-25, 25-23 win over Lincoln-Way West in Friday’s state quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates.
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The Wildcats advanced to Saturday’s 10 a.m. semifinal match against Glenbard West (37-3), which defeated Barrington 25-12, 25-18 in the opening quarterfinal.
The 6-foot-1 Grove added six digs and compiled a .368 hitting percentage. Neuqua (32-7) finished with 53 kills and a .376 hitting percentage, compared to 50 kills and a .388 percentage for Lincoln-Way West (30-9).
After sitting out with an ankle injury, Grove also had to adjust to a new setter on May 23 after the Wildcats won the regional title against Naperville North.
That’s when star setter Kevin Kauling, who has 645 assists, left the Wildcats to play for the U.S. junior national team in Costa Rica.
Since then, the seldom-used Schlegel has been thrust into a bigger role as the Wildcats reached state for the fourth time in program history.
Grove said he quickly adapted to working again with Schlegel. They played together on the lower levels during their first two years at Neuqua.
The reunion has been a positive one.
“I think I’ve had 20-plus kills in every game since, and he’s been serving up a perfect ball to me every time,” Grove said.
Schlegel didn’t let the big stage bother him, either. He finished with a career-best 39 assists and six digs against the upstart Warriors.
Jeremy Cardenas added 13 kills and Francisco Comas had a team-high 10 digs for Neuqua.
“Jeremy (Grove) is probably the easiest person to set to — just throw it up and he will do something magical with it,” Schlegel said. “It took more time for me to adjust to the middles because they both hit very different balls.
“Mentally, I know I just have to keep myself calm and playing at a high-energy level with good form and have all my technique correct.”
Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza said there were some minor adjustments shifting from Kauling to the 5-10 Schlegel.
“Andrew sets a great ball, plays great defense,” Mendoza said. “He’s one of the best setters in the area. We just happen to have a 6-7 setter who has a chance to play in the Olympics.”
Grove had two key kills in a three-point sequence to help the Wildcats gain control with a 20-19 lead in Game 1. Grove sealed the deal with a kill and service point.
In Game 2, the Warriors rode a strong effort by Ben Pluskota (21 kills) to force a third game. Grove’s kill and Schlegel’s block sparked a key sequence that handed the Wildcats a 17-13 lead in Game 3.
Off an assist from Schlegel, Grove finished the match with a kill.
“I wasn’t going to tip and was just trying to swing as hard as I could,” Grove said.
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.