By Mark Gregory
@Hear_The_Beard
The 22-25, 26-24, 25-27 loss to Bolingbrook last week was a match that epitomized the season for the Joliet West boys volleyball team this season.
“We have been up and down,” said West coach Jason Herrmann. “We are 15-11, so we are still above .500. I would have liked for us to push a little more and take that match. I didn’t want to have to go three today. We needed more solid passing at the end of the game and get the ball to our big guy. But, it’s OK, we will keep working and keep plugging away.”
Herrmann said the loss will not come without its lessons.
“We will learn from games like today,” he said. “Maybe I would call a timeout sooner, but I try and give my guys some leeway and I have that luxury now. Yeah, it is conference, but it is what it is. I have to see how far we can push them. Our sophomore outside getting the swings out there, that is only going to make him better in two or three weeks when we are hopefully fighting for a regional championship.”
Herrmann believes a regional title is within the Tigers’ reach.
West is the No. 7 seed in the Lincoln-Way East Sectional. The Tigers will open play Mon. May 23 against No. 9 Plainfield South.
“We have a nice path again in regionals,” Herrmann said. “We have Plainfield South and then if we win that one, we have Minooka and then we would get the winner of the bottom half. It is up for grabs.”
The other half of the bracket will feature the winners of No. 3 Lincoln-Way North against No. 12 Plainfield Central and No. 10 Joliet Catholic Academy versus No. 5 Lockport.”
Herrmann said that their experiences will only help the Tigers in the playoffs.
“We have to experience things,” he said. “That has been the thing that has happened here since I took over at West. We have been more and more successful each year and the ability to come back and fight and have that resilience when you back is up against the wall is something we can do now on a consistent basis. In the past, we would have folded. We have to learn to stay within our ranks and not try and do too much or go above and beyond. They have to learn to just stay within their game.”
The Tigers have the experienced players to lean on for a successful run.
“We have seven seniors, so we are senior heavy,” Herrmann said. “Clayton (Pelzer) came in during the offseason and has a jump serve and has got better. Scott Lyman, our No. 1 hitter was our No.2 last year. He is a bowler and he is going to go on a scholarship to McKendree, so he isn’t playing club. I have two club guys out there and we are competing against the best of the best and we are winning a lot of them.”