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MINOOKA – Even though it was a regular-season matchup, Thursday’s Southwest Prairie Conference boys volleyball match between Joliet West and Minooka had all the earmarks of a postseason match.
That’s because there was something bigger than a regional or sectional title at stake.
Bragging rights.
Several players on each of the two teams play together during club volleyball season. Because of that, the two programs have developed a healthy rivalry.
In the end, Joliet West got the bragging rights after a 26-24, 25-21 win over a scrappy Minooka team.
Drew Johnson, a Maryland-Eastern Shore commit, had a team-high nine kills for the Tigers (19-8, 6-1 SPC). He got his team off to a strong start in the second set, delivering three straight kills en route to a 4-0 lead.
“I always want the ball,” Johnson said. “When we get a sideout, I always tell the setter to get me the ball. It’s easier to play with the lead rather than trying to come from behind, so it was good that we got that lead early in the second set.
“It’s always a pleasure to play against Minooka since we know so many of their guys. The bragging rights are important, and we were able to talk some trash afterward.”
The quick start in the second set was needed as Minooka was riding a bit of momentum even though it lost the first set. The Indians (10-16, 3-4) trailed 15-10 in the first but rallied to take a 24-23 lead and were serving for set point. West got the last three points on a Minooka serving error and two hitting errors.
After West got out to a 4-0 lead in the second, Minooka rallied behind kills from Connor Latta (seven kills), Jayce Moore (11 kills) and Luke Kirin (four kills, 10 digs) to tie the match at 4. West pulled out to a 12-8 lead before Minooka chipped away and tied it at 18 before a kill by Moore gave the Indians a 19-18 lead. West had the answer with a kill by setter Nolan Fellows (17 assists), a pair of aces by Davide Giambagli and a combined block by Mikey Meloy and Sam Racutt to move out to a 23-19 lead. West’s final two points came on kills by Fellows and Johnson.
“Drew is our go-to guy,” Joliet West coach Tara Litwicki said. “When we need a point or two, all the guys know who we want to have the ball. We had a bit of a rocky start in the first set. The guys were amped up to play Minooka because there is such a mutual respect between the programs. We wanted to serve aggressively and, once the opening jitters were gone, we did a good job with that.
“I have been very happy with Nolan Fellows at setter. He makes good decisions and smart choices. Overall, our guys showed a lot of fight against a team that has some very big kids.”
Giambagli and Dejon Jennings both had four kills for the Tigers, while AK Ramos had a team-high nine digs. Nick Boyce had 17 assists for the Indians, while Gavin Brandoni had four digs.
“We are still trying to find a fixed rotation,” Minooka coach Mike Kargle said. “In our first 13, 14 matches, we had 12 different starting lineups due to injury or sickness. We’re just starting to get healthy and trying to get a good groove going before the postseason.
“We’ve had quite a few matches like this where it could have gone either way. We need to have the confidence to say it’s 20-20, let’s do what got us here. But then we make one small mistake and it kind of snowballs. But I have no complaints with these kids. They bust their tails every day and they don’t let teams walk away thinking it was an easy match.”