Manteno adds win over Trinity to inaugural boys volleyball season

KANKAKEE − The first ever season for the Manteno boys volleyball program will be coming to an end next week, and the Panthers picked up a road win Thursday over Trinity, responding to Monday’s loss to those same Eagles and adding another victory to the fledgling program’s record book.

Although not quite entrenched as a varsity program in their first season, Manteno’s de facto varsity team improved to 4-3 on the season with the win.

Many of the Panthers players, like senior standout Maverick Kenney, had no organized volleyball experience coming into the season. Kenney said there were a few reasons why he decided to join the team for his senior season.

“Really what made me want to come out for the team was I actually watched a volleyball anime,” he said.

But while “Haikyu!!” may have played a bit of a role in piquing his interest, Kenney said the main reason he joined was to try something new with his friends.

Fellow seniors Ben Milton, Mason McElroy, Elijah Kraft, Cody Hall, Matt Dumontelle, Nick Naese and Nate Harrod also came out for the team in their final high school semester, and Kenney said it is bittersweet knowing this season of volleyball will be the only one they play together.

“I’ve had a lot of happy moments just having the team together,” he said. “It’s a very positive team. Everyone is lifting each other up, and everyone makes each other feel good. It’s also pretty sad that it’s the first year and it’s the only year I’m going to get to play as a senior.”

Having such a large number of players on a team that had not played the sport outside of gym class or in the backyard with friends presented some challenges for coach Matt Clymer.

“It’s a different game to be sure,” Clymer said. “That’s been a big part of our challenge is getting things like rotations and covering, things you don’t think about when you’re playing with your buddies in the back yard.”

Thursday’s match was a good opportunity for the team to showcase what it has learned throughout the season and from their loss to Trinity at home Monday.

The Panthers took the opening set 25-21, pulling ahead after a close start and fighting off a late push by the Eagles. Trinity took the second set 25-16 before Manteno won the decisive third set 25-23.

“We prepped in practice yesterday, we kind of played a lot to the things we knew we were going to see here tonight, and it paid off,” Clymer said. “We knew they’re athletic, we knew they were going to block us. We were working a lot on covering the blocks, which we really haven’t practiced yet.

“[We were] making adjustments in the middle of the week to come back, knowing who were going play against, and I’d say it worked out pretty well tonight.”

Thursday was the regular-season finale for Trinity. Although things came to an end with a close loss, head coach Chrissy Hathaway said there was plenty of progress made, as the team finished 12-6 overall.

“I feel like overall they’ve had great improvement,” she said. “We had really two guys that had experience, and the rest didn’t really have experience at all. They’re all young too, so it’s really encouraging to see them grow.”

The Eagles are indeed a young team, having no seniors. This means they will head into next season with a chance to expand on the experience they gained this year.

“It was a great year,” Hathaway said. “I’d like to see these guys build a little bit more, but I’m excited about what they look like for the future, because they grew so much this school year.”

Manteno has one game remaining in its inaugural season. It will be a tough test against the Joliet Catholic JV team, coming from a program that is much more entrenched than the Panthers. Kenney said he and his teammates are hoping to end on a high note.

“I’m going to start off with getting the most kills on the team, and then we’re going to end with a ‘W,’ ” he said. “That’s what I’m planning on.”