Stevenson Blockers Set the Tone as Pats Win

This is not a threat but only a warning. If the Stevenson blocking crew plays as well as it can, the Patriots are a serious contender to win a state title.

Of course there are many facets of the sport of volleyball. However, blocking is important as Stevenson volleyball coach Tim Crow pointed out on Wednesday.

"All boys volleyball is blocking,'' Crow said.

So before the sectional kicks off in Gurnee on Friday night, those Stevenson blockers need to take a few bows. That means you Mitch Robinson and Aaron Zalewski. And those two players get help in this important category from setter Zachary Kravits and very tall Niki Antonijevic (6-foot-9).

Stevenson (31-5) is headed to the Warren Sectional to play Libertyville in a semifinal. Buffalo Grove and Vernon Hills are also in the sectional. On Wednesday night, the Pats trailed Warren for most of the first game.

And then libero Stefan Boes went into serve. Aided by a few kills from setter Kravits and one from outside hitter Danny Gescheidle, the Pats grabbed the lead back. Stevenson won the Lake Forest Regional 25-19, 25-16.

"No one player took over,'' Antonijevic said. "We won the game as a team. I would agree that when we block big, we kind of scare them."

Stevenson may have had a great season winning 31 matches but the Pats fell to Warren two weeks ago in NSC play.

"They just destroyed us two weeks ago,'' Crow said. "So we scouted them last night here. We also changed our rotation."

The matchup with Liberyville on Friday was not expected. The Wildcats were seeded 7th in the sectional before they knocked off second-seeded Barrington to win the Mundelein Regional. A week ago, the Pats beat Libertyville 25-19, 23-25, 27-25.

How the Wildcats of Libertyville handle Stevenson's blocking attack will tell the tale on Friday.

"We work hard in practice on blocking,'' Kravits said. "The best blocking team wins."

It was just two games on Wednesday but Stevenson still rolled up 26 blocks. Both Robinson and Zalewski were credited with 7 blocks. Setter Kravits added 4 blocks. Gescheidle led the offense with 9 kills. Antonijevic added 8 kills.

"Stevenson played well,'' said Warren coach Yun Chen. "They came out blocking really well."

Game two was also close until Gescheidle went into serve with his team up 16-15. Antonijevic punished one volleyball and Kravits tipped the ball over the net for a kill. Darien Wu's serving ended the contest. Kravits accented the win with a strong kill.

More help coming: The number is 67. Stevenson's JV team went unbeaten this season winning 34 matches in a row. And get this, eight of the sophomores played on last year's unbeaten freshman team last year. Those players are riding a 67-game winning streak.