Boys volleyball: Plainfield East cruises to 2-set win over Bolingbrook

PLAINFIELD – Defense was key for Plainfield East in a 25-19, 25-18 nonconference win over Bolingbrook on Wednesday.

That, and the location.

The Bengals (6-1) used solid defense from everyone on the floor and won their home opener after going unbeaten at home last season.

Nathan Stone spearheaded the defense with seven digs from his libero position, but he hardly was alone. Seemingly, every Bengal was intent on not letting the ball hit the floor, and that constant effort frustrated the Bolingbrook hitters.

Kendall Killins added five digs, while Nathan Grutza had a team-high seven kills and Braxton Francis had four blocks. Thomas Tagtmeyer directed the offense with 17 assists and back-to-back kills in the second set that helped the Bengals pull away.

“We feel good about how we are playing,” Grutza said. “I feel like this was kind of a statement game. We were undefeated at home last year, and we don’t want to lose at home this year either.

“In the first set, we weren’t moving to the ball very much early on. Once we started doing that, things went a lot better for us. We work pretty well as a team, and we know where we are going to be on the court. We have improved a lot with that.”

The two teams felt each other out early, trading points in a tight contest. Plainfield East took its first lead at 9-8 with Grutza serving. Trailing 8-7, he came up with a back row kill to tie the game and then served an ace for the lead. Bolingbrook tied the set at 9, 10, 11 and 12 but never regained the lead.

Plainfield East got four kills from Ethan Berry down the stretch and closed the set on a 10-5 run after Bolingbrook got within 15-14.

“We have a lot of guys that can hit, and we spread it around pretty well,” Grutza said. “That makes things easier on me because teams can’t double block me if they don’t know where the ball is going.”

The Bengals continued to roll and never trailed in the second set. Grutza had a kill from the back row early on, and Tagtmeyer had back-to-back kills to give the Bengals a 14-7 lead.

“We have been trying to focus on defense and the little things early in the season,” Plainfield East coach Jeff Wilkie said. “Last year’s team could rely on instincts, but we have to work on little things and details because that’s what everything else is built off of.

“We have tried to beef up our schedule with tough competition. We are off to a good start, but there is still plenty we need to clean up. We need to work on getting a game closed. When we have a big lead, we still have to be fully engaged and not let the other team back in it.”

The Raiders (4-4) did manage to cut a 23-13 East lead to 23-18, getting a block and a kill from middle hitter Diego Loya, who was a bright spot for coach Molly DeSerf.

“This wasn’t our best effort,” DeSerf said. “We know as a coaching staff what we want to see. We want the result to be different, but we also are looking at how we play. We are working on our third lineup, but they are all returning from last year. There are no excuses, and they have to go out there and compete. There’s work to be done, and it’s going to be hard work. Now the key will be what the mentality is toward the hard part.

“Diego Loya played well, and he brings out the best of us. He’s a firey, run-through-the-wall type of kid. We need to get him the ball more, both because his energy is contagious and because it will take some pressure off of our outside hitters.”