Sports
Karch Takes Over in Buffalo Grove's Win
State-ranked Bison not at their best, but still prevailed Monday.
Sometimes a player has to take matters into his own hands.
Lukas Karch is an established setter in boys volleyball. The senior wants to move on to club volleyball next year at Illinois State University. On Monday night at Conant High School, Karch watched his state-ranked Bison struggle against Conant. And then he began to dump the ball over the net for some kills.
The Bison (5-2) weren't at their best, but still prevailed 25-22, 25-19.
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"My hitters weren't getting the job done,'' Karch said. "Maybe our legs were sore from the Bison battle (Saturday). But we came out really flat tonight. But this is a pretty good learning experience for us."
BG coach Matt Aiello knows he has a steady hand at the setting position.
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"Karch is a good leader,'' Aiello said. "He knows what to do. He's the best setter in our sectional."
On paper, powerful BG was supposed to run Conant out of the gym on Monday. But court play was something different. The host Cougars only led early in set one, 3-2, but stayed close for most of the match.
"We really played without heart or desire,'' Aiello said. "We really stopped ourselves."
Momentum was hard to get a hold of on this night. Only with Chris Shanahan serving in set one did the Bison earn a few points. Sam Wacker had a block kill and Jaimie Schnittker added a kill as the BG lead expanded to 18-13. Still, the Cougars pulled within 24-22 before the end of this set.
Set two was also close. Karch had three of his dump shots in the second set. With Wacker serving, both Jon Ward and Shanahan had kills as the Bison lead moved to 11-8.
Recap: The Bison Battle brought in some heavyweights to Buffalo Grove on Saturday. Among the guests included Naperville North and Wheaton Warrenville South. BG fell to both of these teams but notched wins over Lake Zurich, Glenbrook North and Lincoln Park.
Up next: They don't seem to duck anyone at Buffalo Grove. The tough tournament schedule continues with a pair of games on Thursday. The Bison travel to the Wheaton Classic that day.
