Even with the cards stacked against Lincoln-Way East, senior right-side hitter Jon Guch was determined to go down swinging in the most important match of the season.
“I had a lot of regrets last year, just not finishing the way I wanted to,” Guch said of the Griffins taking fourth in 2021. “I knew even if we weren’t going to win this game, I wanted to go out with a bang.”
Guch did his best to rally Lincoln-Way East in Saturday’s championship match in Hoffman Estates, but it wasn’t enough as Glenbard West rolled to a 25-16, 25-18 victory for its fourth state title since 2015.
The 6-foot-3 Guch finished with nine kills, six in Game 2, to help the Griffins (35-7) stay afloat despite numerous errors in the rubber match against the Hilltoppers (39-3).
Glenbard West and Lincoln-Way East were ranked seventh and 12th, respectively, in the latest AVCA-USA Today Super 25 poll, which highlights the top teams in the nation.
“I can keep my head up knowing I gave it everything I’ve got,” said Guch, who will play both volleyball and football at St. Ambrose. “I trained really hard for this season.
“I left it all out there. It was a special group of guys, and I want to thank all the coaches for everything they taught me.”
As two of the state’s powerhouse programs, Glenbard West and Lincoln-Way East know each other well.
In March, the Griffins defeated Glenbard West, but the Hilltoppers gained a measure of revenge April 23 with a two-set sweep.
The Hilltoppers, who also defeated Lincoln-Way East in last year’s third-place match, delivered a dominant performance Saturday.
“Both of us were playing really good volleyball coming in,” Lincoln-Way East coach Kris Fiore said. “To beat a team like that, you need to avoid errors and be able to pass to run your offense efficiently. We didn’t do any of those things.”
Fiore added an ankle injury to Jordan Hicks in Game 1 also hurt. The senior middle led the Griffins in blocking during the regular season, but his movement was compromised.
“Glenbard West was serving really aggressively and making it challenging for us,” Fiore said. “Our kids, I’m just so incredibly proud of them. You can see they’re not happy with a second-place finish, but I think tomorrow they’ll be happy with their accomplishments.”
Explosive senior outside Jared Byas led Lincoln-Way East with 11 kills. Jerry Moylan had 24 assists, Tyler Walenga chipped in with five kills and Sam Szafoni had a match-high eight digs.
“Just being here is a special thing,” Szafoni said. “Obviously we wanted first, but we can be proud with second place. … From freshman to senior year, it’s a great group of guys and I couldn’t be more glad to do it with anyone else.”
Lincoln-Way East was better offensively in both games, finishing with 28 kills to Glenbard West’s 24, but the Griffins committed 17 attack errors — 14 more than the Hilltoppers.
It was a tough day defensively as Glenbard West’s Trevor Powell, a 6-6 setter, spread the wealth and fed multiple hitters. That made it difficult for the Griffins to get into a groove.
Powell finished with 18 assists and two kills, while Gavin Swartz led the Hilltoppers with seven kills.
“We split games with them during the season,” Szafoni said. “They brought the energy and the big crowd. We just didn’t have the energy we needed.”
The 5-9 Byas, who plays like he has springs in his feet, provided a heavy swing and put down a few highlight-reel kills against Glenbard West.
Byas, however, will play libero next season for Missouri S&T.
“We worked so hard to get where we’re at,” Byas said. “Glenbard had a really great match and they were so clean. It definitely does hurt.
“We wanted to take the state championship, but overall, I’m just so proud of the team. We really worked this season. We took fourth last year and had a goal to do better. We did that.”
Logan Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.