Friars win 3rd straight volleyball title
St. Anthony's Michael Hergenroeather (face visible) celebrates with teammates after winning the CHSAA boys volleyball championship against St. Francis Prep. (May 16, 2011) Credit: James Escher
If a three-peat is the prerequisite for a dynasty, then all St. Anthony's boys volleyball needed was one more win to join the club.
Monday night, they made it a sweep for good measure.
The top-seeded Friars won their third straight CHSAA title with a 25-8, 25-23, 25-15 victory over No. 3 St. Francis Prep at Hofstra.
A senior-laden lineup, led by four-year starting libero Anthony Bilello (21 digs), helped St. Anthony's (17-0) to its second straight undefeated season.
Tournament MVP Scott Van Duyne had 12 kills and setter Matt Safranek had 31 assists.
"To win it like we did is just the best feeling in the world," Bilello said. "To dominate the way we did . . . It was just surreal."
The Friars took control early in the first set, scoring six of the first seven points. Van Duyne's cross-court kill that nipped the sideline put the Friars ahead 8-2.
But the Terriers responded in the second set to take a 16-9 lead, forcing Friars coach Donna Newman to call a timeout.
"I told them that they had to refocus and get back to the basics of passing because I figured, if we fixed our passing, that was everything," Newman said.
St. Anthony's chopped away at the deficit and the Terriers (10-7) committed service faults on consecutive possessions that cut their lead to 20-19.
Tied at 23 and receiving serve, the Friars' Joseph Groneman, standing out of bounds and near the side of the net, somehow squeezed a cross-court kill through the St. Francis guard. Van Duyne's kill on the ensuing point capped the second-set comeback.
The timeout shifted the tone of the set, as Newman said she told her players that things were not going be as easy as the 17-point, first-set drubbing.
"We came in, calmed down and passed to the target," Van Duyne said. "Once we did that, everything was good."
Up 2-0, the Friars played a controlled third set, and St. Francis continued to struggle with an inconsistent service game.
Andrew Melon (10 kills) finished an extended rally with a kill that split the guard of three Terriers defenders to make it 21-11.
"That third set was a lot of fun," Bilello said. "We enjoyed every point of it."
The 10-point third-set advantage clinched the match and the Friars' volleyball dynasty. After winning the title in 1992, they had a 17-year drought before this three-year run.
They are a combined 50-1 during the three championship seasons.
"I learned from the guys who came before me, and hopefully the younger guys can learn from us," said Van Duyne, who is one of six St. Anthony's seniors. "And hopefully, we have a dynasty."
