CPS entrant Lane surprises Wheaton Warrenville South

HOFFMAN ESTATES – Over the years, Wheaton Warrenville South has made plenty of boys volleyball state history.

The Tigers won seven state titles and placed second once between 2001-2012.

But, playing in their first state finals since 2012, Wheaton Warrenville South saw its opponent make history. That was Lane Tech, which defeated the Tigers 25-21, 21-25, 25-18 in the last quarterfinal match on Friday at Hoffman Estates High School.

With their 10th straight victory, the Champions (34-6) became the first Chicago Public League team to win a match at the state volleyball tournament. The Public League teams had been 0-7 before this.

They will face defending state champion Marist, a 17-25, 25-14, 25-21 winner over Lake Park at 11 a.m. in the second semifinal on Saturday.

Still, veteran Tigers coach Bill Schreier appreciated being back on the state court he took 10 teams to in 12 years.

“It’s always special to have the opportunity to be here,” Schreier said. “It’s exciting. We didn’t have the sustained level of play that I wanted. But we discovered the culture of the program.”

Schreier drew on an individual from his first team in 1999 to motivate the Tigers.

“One of the guys from my first team, Evan Wayne, drove two and a half hours from Wisconsin for our sectional title match,” Schreier said of his team’s 25-12, 25-21 win on Tuesday over Wheaton North which was his 750th career win. ”He was a glue guy on our first team, and I named an inspirational award after him.

“He would have been at state, but he had to go out of town for something else.”

Wheaton Warrenville South (32-8) saw its seven-match winning streak end. Earlier in the season, on April 19, the Tigers lost to Lane Tech 25-21, 25-21 in their own tournament.

Simon Bratt, a junior outside hitter, led Wheaton Warrenville South with a match-high 21 kills and added six digs.

“The last time we played them, they were blocking a lot of balls,” Bratt said. “A lot of our guys had never seen blocking like that before.

“But we got back here behind a lot of hard work and dedication. We definitely accomplished something.”

The Champions had 14 blocks in the quarterfinal match, led by senior middle blocker Tate Myatt (8 kills, 6 blocks). Senior outside hitter Liem Doan (12 kills, 4 digs, 3 aces), junior outside hitter Richy Barwicki (9 kills, 3 blocks, 5 digs), and junior setter Martin Nguyen (33 assists, 2 kills, 3 blocks) were also big for Lane Tech, which used an 8-1 run in the third set to pull away to a 19-11 lead.

Senior outside hitter Mergen Purevsuren (11 kills, 4 digs), junior opposite side hitter Marko Polovina (4 kills, 2 blocks), and senior setter Mark Gheorghita (35 assists, 5 digs) also contributed to the Tigers.

“The season was based on hard work in the gym,” Purevsuren said. “Coach has been doing this for a long time. We got here by playing for each other, and we created a good bond based on family.”