Riverside Brookfield volleyball coach Dan Bonarigo repeatedly offers this simple strategy to his Bulldogs: Limit runs.
Unfortunately, visiting Oak Park didn’t comply with Bonarigo’s sage advice as the Huskies pulled out a 25-19, 25-16 win over Riverside Brookfield on Friday night.
Tied at 13-13 in the opening game, the Huskies scored six consecutive points en route to a 25-19 score. The second game offered a similar script as the area rivals battled to a 10-10 draw before the Huskies ran off 15 of the final 21 points to clinch the match.
“Oak Park defended us well,” Bonarigo said. “A big theme for us [this season] has been ‘end the run at two points.’ A lot of the matches we have lost, I can point to a run where the other team runs off several points. Oak Park helped us with errors they made, but we were playing with them point for point. Oak Park had a couple of those runs and that was the difference in the match.”
For the match, RB sputtered offensively with only four kills and an ace. Promising 6-foot-1 sophomore middle hitter Juan Gomez and senior libero Tony Blatter posted seven digs apiece. Six-foot-2 outside hitter Billy Comrie had five digs and two kills.
Charlie Kahn (7 kills, block, and ace), Sam Hines (6 kills), Benjamin Rains (5 kills, block) and Blake Austin (3 blocks) led the way, for a relatively lackluster showing as well, for the Huskies.
“It just wasn’t a great match technically or stats-wise,” Oak Park coach Don August said. “Riverside Brookfield had 19 points in the first game, but we gave them 13 of those points with [10] service errors and [three] hitting errors. It wasn’t a stellar night serving for us. No disrespect to RB, but we had a size advantage and an experience advantage.”
Thanks to the Huskies’ victory, Oak Park and RB share identical 7-11 records. Last spring, Oak Park knocked off Riverside Brookfield in a thrilling 25-27, 25-20, 25-23 comeback win in Oak Park.
“It’s always a nice match to play a local team,” said August about the good-natured rivalry. “The quality of talent reflects the level of play each year. Last year was a very close, exciting game. I was expecting the same kind of game this year, but I think RB has been struggling a little bit.”
RB lost matches last week to highly regarded Hinsdale Central. Leyden also registered a 25-12, 25-22 victory over RB, but the Bulldogs’ Evan Munch (4 kills), Gomez (3 kills) and Jon Rus (11 assists) played well.
Despite their recent losing skid, Bonarigo has seen progress this season. Claudio Arba, Pete Jansen and other RB players continue to develop.
“We’ve made a lot of strides from the beginning of the season,” Bonarigo said. “We have had a tough schedule and we have a long way to go, but I’ve been pleased with how we have played at times this year. It always goes back to the fundamentals. I tell the players to focus on getting their feet to a spot, having a platform out, and lining up to your target. Defensively, guys need to get low and be aggressive.”