Welcome back to boys volleyball post-season action! Bolingbrook is the host site for this Saturday afternoon boys volleyball contest between the 20th-seeded Plainfield East Bengals and the 13th-seeded Waubonsie Valley Warriors. The Warriors finished second in the DVC conference with a 5-3 record. The Bengals come in off a two-set loss against the Raiders and look for an upset victory. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Warriors get off to a hot start
The Warriors start set one off hot, as Petar Ivanov opens up with the first kill and points of the match on an assist from Owen Petranek.
Ivanov would pick up another kill, sparking a three-point scoring run for the Warriors,
The Bengals would try to take a kill, but are denied by Soham Dongre and Michael Johnson.
Dhruvesh Parthiban lands an ace for the Warriors, forcing the Bengals to take a timeout, the Warriors lead 4-0 after a scalding start.
Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors look to keep the momentum surging as they attempt another kill, however, it is denied by Evan Schemidt and Michael Ameyaw for the Bengals’ first points of set one.
Plainfield East looks to build on the scoring as the offense can locate Luca Olavarri for back-to-back kills to give the Bengals some momentum
Ivanov is not keen on the Bengals breaking through as his teammates set him up for another kill.
The Bengals attempt with a kill of their own, but Dongre skies with his arms raised for another block.
Jad Omari follows his teammate Parthiban’s lead by picking up an Ace of his own. Waubonsie eventually goes on to take a marathon first set 28-26.
Plainfield East battles back in set two
Set two starts off tied at two as both teams trade points until Harish Krishnan comes up with a nice block at the net to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead.
The Warriors look to keep the momentum rolling as Dongre can come up with another block at the net. The Warriors trail 8-7.
Plainfield East quickly turns things around after Olavarri confuses the warriors as he puts a return over for the point.
Ameyaw forces the warriors to take a timeout after he lands an ace with the momentum in the Bengal’s court.
The Warriors look for some momentum off the serve as they find Johnson for the kill, but the Bengals still hold a comfortable 16-10 lead in set two.
Set point on the line, and the Warriors look to fight back to prevent this from going to a third set; however, they are met at the net again by Schemidt as he closes out set two. The Bengals win it 25-21
The Bengals complete the comeback
Waubonsie starts the final set off strong, as Parthiban and AJ Ruffin connect for the opening Warrior points on the kill.
East would respond quickly following a kill from Ameyaw, sparking a scoring run for the Bengal offense.
Part of that scoring run includes a nice play from the Bengals as Evan Farber makes a saving pass to Fauzan Rizwan as he scores for East.
Set and match point on the line, the Warriors give their best efforts to stay alive, but Olavarri shuts it down as Plainfield East boys volleyball takes a commanding set three victory over Waubonsie Valley, 25-12, and moves on to face 4th-seeded Bolingbrook Raiders in the second round.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
