Here are boys volleyball previews for teams from around the Suburban Life coverage area.
Benet
The Redwings were second in the East Suburban Catholic Conference (7-1) and were 29-7 overall last year. Marist won the ESCC with a perfect 8-0 slate. Benet defeated Oswego to win a regional title and lost to Plainfield South in the sectional semifinals.
Seniors Luke Mitra, Lukas Carlsen, Quinn Robinson and Ben Schreidel along with juniors Vince Caby and Francisco Betancourt are back, joined by seniors Benas Ungaraitis and Ayden Milka and juniors Zach Lange, Aidan Calimilion, Will Shields, Alex Wold, Will Nichols, Conner Helfy and Max Piotrowski.
‘’Marist and (Niles) Notre Dame are tough and St. Viator and St. Patrick’s are scrappy and resilient," Benet coach Hector Cano said. “There will be a lot of learning development. We hope by the end of the year we will be ready for a state playoff run.”
Downers Grove North
The Trojans were 33-5 and tied for the West Suburban Conference Silver title with Oak Park-River Forest. DGN won the Downers Grove South invitational and took second at the Marist invitational. The Trojans lost to Plainfield South in the regional finals.
Seniors Aaron Grey, Baldwin Wallace, Ethan Weiner and Jude Caldwell are back while senior Brandon Beth, junior Easton Isaacson and sophomores Emperor Pratts and Joey Stojanov join the team.
“We lost a ton of talented veterans,” Trojans coach Mark Wasik said. “We had a disappointing finish to an incredible season. We bring enough senior leadership and experience to guide a core of young but talented athletes that allow us to remain competitive.”
Downers Grove South
Seniors Linas Kasperiunas, Nico Fallara, Aarav Shah, Riley Bowditch and Nedas Blauzdys return for the Mustangs (17-19, 5-1), who add senior Amari Thomas and junior Mason Knorr.
“This year we want to get back on top of the conference,” Mustangs coach Kurt Steuer said. “We have a lot of senior leadership. We want to be competitive against the top teams. We want to be prepared to play in the toughest sectional in the state.”
Glenbard East
The Rams were 20-16 a year ago and tied for the Upstate Eight Conference East title with Riverside-Brookfield and West Chicago.
Glenbard East will miss junior Gloire Emma (280 kills) with a torn ACL.
Even without Emma, the Rams have a veteran group bolstered by seniors Gabe Polyak, Jake Hayes, Nate Lynch, Mike Hoffmann, Jackson Yates and Charlie Cooper. Sophomore Max Walschmidt.
“We have 10 returning players from the 2025 season with experience,” Rams coach Brad Cardott said. ”We have a strong core of seniors. We are looking forward to being at the top of UEC this season. We have experienced returners at each position with depth, leadership and strength."
Glenbard South
The Raiders (17-19, 3-3), who lost to Minooka in the regional quarterfinals last year, return two-time all-UEC performer Troy Oleksak to spearhead the attack.
Oleksak will be joined by seniors Dom Kuceba and Jackson McCabe, juniors Aaron Gomez, Emmett Foster-Simbulan, Jonas Ghionzioli, Parker Minkley, Kallen Olson and Andrew Mihailescu, and freshmen Owen Stauber, Tyler Urbanowicz and Matt Wisniewski.
“We have several versatile players,” Raiders coach Chad Grant said. “We have 12 returning players who all saw the court last season. We showed a lot of growth. We are ready to win. Our defense is our strength. I am looking forward to seeing what this team can accomplish.”
Glenbard West
The Hilltoppers, who lost to Marist in last year’s state championship match, return seniors Brendan Markey, Carter Long, Luke Bachmann, Ian Hoster, Otis Yahn and Andrew Fanella along with sophomore Lukas Wallin.
“It will be a difficult season for the Toppers,” said coach Christine Giunta Mayer, who has 631 wins in 20 years. “The conference talent is way up. We are looking forward to the challenge. It is a marathon not a sprint.”
Hinsdale Central
The Red Devils (12-24, 1-5) return seniors Kenny Roedica, Dane Berringer and Eeshan Lal, junior Bjorn Vinje and sophomore Nate Ruth. They add sophomore Matt Kluchenek and freshman Braden Degnan.
“Some of the best volleyball is played in the West Suburban Silver,” Red Devils coach Tom Gilbert said. ”It seems like one or two teams make it to the final state series every year. The conference is exciting to be a part of. We have a lot of returners and some young talent which will hopefully give us a spark and make a good push in the playoffs. We are expecting a better season."
Hinsdale South
The Hornets won the West Suburban Gold with a perfect 6-0 slate last year.
Seniors Tomaz Lobas (Lewis University), Justyn Gladla and Navin Linson return.
“We want to compete for a conference title,” Hornets coach Joe Lencoini said. “We want to make a postseason run.”
IC Catholic Prep
The Knights, 3-12 a year ago playing a junior varsity schedule, are beginning their first year at the varsity level. Coach Carlos Jasso returns sophomores Trent Levy and Flynn Walsh to go with freshman newcomers Sean Cantwell, Luke Denekas, Sam Richards, Ryan Braniff and Peter Graham.
IC will play in the Chicagoland Christian Conference.
“This is the most competitive conference,” Jasso said. “We are a great addition to the CCL. We are learning, building and developing a program for years to come. We are confident we will be a competitive team and will win matches we are suppose to win.”
St. Francis
The Spartans were 14-23 last year and 5-3 in the rugged Catholic League, good enough for second place.
Seniors Peter Zgutowicz, Mateo Casmiro, Luke Davis, Liam Smith and Garrity Bennett return along with junior George Onorski and sophomore Michael Thang.
Coach Mike Lynch adds juniors Jack Shannon, Augustine Cin, Abraham Kap, Cin Chai and Jackson Blaha and freshman Evan King to the roster.
“We have growth, depth and work ethic and are able to compete at a high level,” Lynch said. “We are poised to make a run in the state playoffs. We are excited to see where this group is headed. We are still a relatively young team. We have more polished and confident players who will be tested though the conference and will play some of the top teams in the state.”
Timothy Christian
The Trojans (22-14) tied for the Chicagoland Conference title and have seniors Evan Frens, James Matousek, Caleb Lindenmulder and Isaac Tameling, juniors Nate Horne and Andrew Lumkes and sophomore Charlie Schommer back from that team. They add sophomores Jason Vogt and Caleb White.
“We anticipate at least a share of the conference title,” Trojans coach Corey Oliver said.
Wheaton Academy
The Warriors were 20-7 overall and tied for the Chicagoland Conference title with Timothy Christian last year.
Back for 20th-year coach DA Nichols are seniors Daniel Ciszek, Ollie Williams and Nathan Owens, juniors Josiah Nichols, Abram Lee, Logan Legel, AJ Chavez and Kolby Saurer and sophomore Kellen Saurer.
Senior Andy Chen, junior Aaron Downey and sophomores Logan Lennox, Julius Nevins and Noah Kinczyk join the mix.
“We graduated some key pieces,” Nichols said. “We hope returners incorporate the younger players into the system. We have the pieces to be very competitive. The amount of growth we can achieve is very high.”
Wheaton North
The Falcons went 25-11 and lost to Wheaton Warrenville South in the South Elgin sectional championship game last season.
Seniors Aidan Syswerda (all-state, all-state academic, all conference), Peter Dey (all-state academic), Joe Claud, Alex Scribner and Tomas Manrique and juniors Owen Hubner and Will Biagini return while juniors Jake Johnson, Joey Brudzinski and Theo Lee are new.
“We have seven starters back and we want to challenge for the DuKane Conference championship and make a deep playoff run,” Falcons coach John Noe IV said. “We have almost our entire roster back. We want to improve our skills as the season goes. Wheaton Warrenville South, Lake Park and (us) are all contenders in the DuKane Conference.”
Wheaton Warrenville South
The Tigers were 32-8 and winners of the DuKane Conference with a perfect 6-0 slate in 2025, then advanced to the state finals.
Senior Simon Bratt, a three-time all-stater and an all-American as a junior, led the state in aces (74) last year. Seniors Marko Polavino and Aiden Wink along with sophomore Nate Paige also return while the Tigers add senior Matt Mikyl, sophomores Ben Stellwagen, Dylan Bastaans and Liam Noonan and freshmen Logan Thornton, Ryan Sweeney and Matt Burkly.
“We want to keep things going,” said coach Bill Schreier, who has won 750 matches in 28 years. “We have a good mix of seniors and underclassmen. We have a talented group of newcomers. We want to progress throughout the season. We want to continue our path to the elite eight.”
York
The Dukes (26-11, 4-2) are paced by senior Princeton recruit Hunter Stepanich, 6-foot-8 outside hitter.
“Hunter is one of the most decorated student-athletes ever at York,” said coach Ken Dowdy.
Seniors Leo Nardini, Nik Reshamwala and Owen Serr also return along with junior Matthew Denton. The newcomers include seniors Yusuf Saratwala, Dylan Stavridis, Chase McCall, Quinn Feeney and Emmet Dougherty, juniors Alex Smal, Finn Dochoff and Connor Evans, sophomore Brady Stephens and freshman Owen Rodriguez.
“We are young and inexperienced,” said Dowdy. “We have a high ceiling with talented players joining the varsity. Glenbard West is the favorite in the conference until someone ends the dynasty. Oak Park-River Forest is also very good and may be the best team in the state. Let’s be real, the West Suburban Silver is the best conference in the state.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260325/boys-volleyball/scouting-the-dupage-county-and-fox-valley-boys-volleyball-season/