Joliet West opens boys volleyball season with sweep of Bradley-Bourbonnais

JOLIET – Last year was a heck of a season for the Joliet West boys volleyball team as the Tigers went 30-6 and advanced to the regional finals. Though they graduated some heavy hitters, they also return many valuable assets.

That was clear in their season opener Wednesday afternoon.

The Tigers were dominant in the first set and shook off a slow start in the second to sweep Bradley-Bourbonnais 25-8, 25-15.

Joliet West (1-0) had no trouble at all in the first set, punishing the opposing first-year program from start to finish. The second set was more of a challenge as both squads exchanged points with the Boilermakers actually leading 11-10 at one point. The Tigers proceeded to rattle off nine consecutive points and outscored Bradley 15-5 to end the day.

“Considering this is the first game of the season and we have a lot of young guys that are new to varsity, they’re still getting used to the game,” Tigers coach Tara Litwicki said. “It’s a jump from JV to varsity so it’s very fast and intense. These guys have been working very hard to get used to that intensity. We put guys out there today that we thought would perform the best and they matched up and came together.”

Nolan Fellows led the way for Joliet West with 14 assists while Davide Giambagli and Mikey Meloy each had four kills.

“It was nice to have a game where we could get together and figure out what we had for the season,” Fellows said. “I’m feeling confident for the season. ... We were goofing off a little bit [to start the second set], so that’s why it got a little close. Once we dialed back in we were able to talk to each other and help each other get going again.”

While there are some pieces to replace from last year’s squad, Joliet West does bring back some key experience, including Fellows and Meloy. Right-side hitter Drew Johnson is a Division I commitment to Maryland Eastern Shore, the first D-I HBCU to add men’s volleyball. Johnson is 6-foot-5 and a valuable cog to the Tigers’ lineup.

Additionally, help is here from youngsters Sam Racutt, a sophomore, and Akbal Ramos. Giambagli is a foreign exchange student from Italy, who showed his worth in the contest.

Above all, Litwicki was proud of the energy the group displayed against a fresh, upstart program in the Boilermakers (0-1).

“You never know what’s going to show up on the court,” she said. “It’s nice to see everything come together on the court and have it cary over from practice into the game. ... We really pushed the communication and we heard a lot of talking and calling of each other’s shots. Our communication was fabulous and our energy was intense and phenomenal as always”

She added that while there’s some growth ahead for Joliet West, there’s also a lot of potential for this group.

“Right now we just need to stay consistent,” she said. “We need to bring our game energy into practice and understand what it’s like to go through the emotions of the game. We need to just gain experience and that will help us figure out everything we need to work on.”

For what it’s worth, Fellows expects this year’s team to do even better than last year’s.

“We’re hoping to do even better than last year,” he said. “We lost some good guys, but we’ve got some great guys this year. We all work together very well and we’re excited. I have very high expectations for this team.”

The Tigers will host a tournament beginning Friday.