By Ryan Molini (@molins_3)

Heading into Thursday night, April 30, the boys’ varsity volleyball team (12-12, 4-3) looked to gain an advantage in the Mid Suburban League East standings. Their hurdle was the Huskies of John Hersey High School.
Senior outside hitter Eryk Krzyzak (6 kills) knew heading into the game that it would be a major factor in who would win the MSL East this year. After trailing 14-18 in the first game, head coach Mike Riedy called a timeout for his players
“He told us [in the timeout] to keep playing hard, keep playing aggressive with a lot of energy,” Krzyzak said. “He [also] told us to keep playing up and play as a team because when we play together, we can be special.”
Riedy felt that in the first game, his team needed to adjust more to Hersey’s play.
“We were just playing our own game and not adjusting to what was on the other side of the net,” Riedy said.
Krzyzak felt that senior outside hitter Alex Blethen (7 kills) played well and kept the team in the first game.
“For us, Blethen stepped up,” Krzyzak said. “He had a lot of kills. He played really well, and it’s fun to see him play with a lot of energy.”
The Knights dropped the first game 24-25, and the Huskies never looked back. They continued their momentum into the second game, taking it 25-17 and winning the match.
Riedy and his Knights look to end conference play on a high note next Tuesday as they take on the Buffalo Grove Bison.
“We got to get our heads straight,” Riedy said. “Some of it is volleyball. Probably 50 percent of it is [that] we [have] to work on some of our volleyball stuff, but the other half is getting our minds corrected.”