Sports
Oderio the Face of Romeoville Volleyball Team
Six-foot-seven Romeoville senior Nick Oderio commands attention with his combination of size and cerebral play on the volleyball court.
Nick Oderio is far from inconspicuous on the volleyball court. At six-foot-seven, the Romeoville senior commands attention whenever the Spartans face off against an opponent.
“He’s a very talented kid,” Plainfield East coach Daniel Vergo said Tuesday night after his squad escaped the Spartans in a thrilling three-game match. “We’re a shorter team. A lot of times, there’s nothing you can do about (combating his size).”
Oderio had an opportunity to secure the Spartans the first game against Plainfield East when he took over the serving reigns with Romeoville leading 24-23 in the first game.
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Plainfield East senior Michael Simpson foiled the Spartans’ plans with a kill, and the Bengals captured the first game by scoring the final three points. But Oderio and his teammates learned much from the first game.
“We knew after the first game that we could push them in three (games),” Oderio said. The Spartans’ senior leader delivered on his prognostication.
With two of his seven kills in the middle contest, Romeoville forced a rubber game with its 25-21 second-game victory over the Bengals.
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Oderio had an ace, one of seven service points, to give Romeoville its 24th point of the game.
“(Oderio is) just a great all-around player,” said Romeoville coach Debra Fehrenbacher. “(His greatest strength) is not his size, it’s his intellect. He is very agile for 6-7.”
Unfortunately for the Spartans, the squad fell behind early in the decisive third game against Plainfield East. Mental and physical mistakes would ultimately doom the team in its 21-25 defeat.
“We just never kept up enough intensity (during the Bengals’ 17-7 run) until right at the end,” Oderio said. “There were little things here and there.
Romeoville did stage a rally, scoring eight points in a 9-point span to close to within two of the Bengals in the decisive game.
Oderio, who will continue his career at Adrian College in Michigan, had the last of his seven kills to continue the match.
“I definitely turned it up at the end,” Oderio said. “I love to play as much as I can.”
The Spartans fell to 10-7 after their three-game setback.
“We came in here expecting better work,” Fehrenbacher said. “All we can do now is get ready for Oswego on Thursday night.”
