Oakville Takes Down Lindbergh, Affton to Start Tourney

In four close games, Oakville secured the No. 1 seed going into Saturday of the St. Louis Varsity Preseason Classic.

The Tigers defeated Lindbergh (28-26, 25-21) and Affton (25-21, 25-19) thanks to a stellar blocking performance from its front line.

Oakville had nine blocks against Affton with three in a row coming from junior Jake Duckworth in the first game. The blocks came when the score was close and a fourth block by Greg Vanderpluym gave the team a 20-17 edge. 

“We are working so hard, with just getting our bodies controlled and they are doing so well,” said Oakville coach Kelsey Husak. “We’ve been practicing blocking, tons of blocking and serve receive.”

The practice paid off as Duckworth, Vanderpluym, Matt Seebeck and Zac Rankin all had blocks for the night. Duckworth ended the night with four blocks and a team-high seven kills.

“I knew they had one really good player and we let that one player beat us,” said Affton coach Brian Boehm. “I think honestly we can play with any team in the state if we want to, we’re just very inconsistent. I think we’re better than what we’ve shown.”

While blocking won the Tigers the first game, defense took the second. Setter Jeff Winter and defensive specialist Austin Bennett picked up several balls when the Cougars started tipping.

“Our setters are just running the court, they’re just setting everybody, we’ve got tons of options, it’s exciting,” Husak said.

Oakville continues play on Saturday. Check back on Monday to see how the team did and see photos from Friday’s game on our Facebook page.