GA_060619

26 | June 6, 2019 | The glencoe anchor SPORTS
glencoeanchor.com
Athlete of the Month
Frankel
earns Giant
honor
Nick Frazier
Contributing Sports Editor
A magical postseason
run helped Jeremy Frankel
stand out this month.
Frankel, a senior pitcher
on the Highland Park
baseball team, was named
22nd Century Media Athlete
of the Month. He’s
the second Giant to win
the award in 2019.
Thanks to the efforts
of Frankel on the mound,
Highland Park shocked
everyone en route to winning
a regional title. Frankel
got the start in a 4-2
win over second-seeded
Stevenson in the regional
semifinal.
Frankel won this
month’s voting with 120
votes.
Voting lasted from May
10-25. The Athlete of the
Month contest for athletes
selected in the month of
May gets underway on
June 10 and will end on
June 25. Vote at GlencoeAnchor.com.
May Athlete of the
Month Candidates
Loyola Academy
Jack Loveland, boys
track and field
Maggie Gorman, girls
lacrosse
Kathryn Kinsella,
softball
New Trier
Andrew Kost, baseball
Sydney Kunkler, girls
track and field
Boys volleyball
New Trier downs OPRF in state’s third-place match
Bill McLean
Freelance Reporter
New Trier’s Connor Ppochetti prepares to send the ball back over the net Saturday,
June 1, in Hoffman Estates. David Kraus/22nd Century Media
It electrified New Trier’s
boys volleyball team
before every match this
spring.
Every Trevian but senior
outside hitter Connor Pochetti
would huddle on a
court and create an opening.
Pochetti then would
rush through the gap and
pop straight up, his 37-
inch vertical jump in the
middle of all that humanity
straining teammates’
necks and inciting waves
of whoops.
“That’s one of the things
I’ll always remember
about this group — the
way Connor would fire all
of us up before we competed,”
New Trier coach
Sue Ellen Haak said after
her boys defeated Oak
Park-River Forest 29-31,
25-22, 25-21 in the thirdplace
match at the state
tournament at Hoffman
Estates High School on
Saturday, June 1.
“His jump, along with
the reactions to it, symbolized
our team’s tremendous
attitude and enthusiasm
all season.”
Pochetti launched himself
again at a critical
juncture in the second set
against OPRF.
But instead of rocketing
due north, he dived
abruptly to his right for a
tremendous sideline dig to
extend a point that New
Trier would win on a kill by
junior right-side hitter Peter
Brown (16 kills, six digs,
four blocks, three aces).
A joyous Pochetti
screamed and pumped
his fists as he joined his
huddling teammates for
a boisterous on-court celebration.
The point gave New Trier
(32-8) a 19-17 lead. The
advantage grew to 20-17
on a kill from senior middle
Eli Lieberman before
the Huskies (35-6) struck
for three straight points.
Back-and-forth it went.
New Trier was only five
OPRF points away from
having to settle for fourth
place at state for the second
year in a row.
Seven points later, a
resounding kill by NT junior
OH Colin Heath (11
kills, seven digs) clinched
the middle set (25-22) for
a program that started its
sixth consecutive Elite
Eight appearance with a
three-set defeat of St. Rita
in a state quarterfinal on
May 31.
Lieberman (six kills,
four blocks) elevated for
back-to-back blocks in the
decisive set, with the second
denial upping NT’s
lead to 11-8.
“We were a defenseminded
team this year, and
we took pride in our defense,”
Pochetti said.
But Brown’s offense
certainly came in handy,
particularly in the latter
part of the third set. After
OPRF — which fell to
New Trier in three sets, on
May 4 — won four-of-five
points to cut New Trier’s
lead to 16-15, Brown
smacked a kill. His slowpaced,
well-placed kill to a
deep corner gave his club a
match point, at 24-20.
And Brown’s final kill,
on another match point,
secured the Trevians’ first
third-place showing at
state.
“Those two guys
[Brown and Heath], what
a duo,” Pochetti said.
“Watch out for them next
year. Insane. They’ll be insane
as seniors.”
New Trier senior outside
hitter Alden Schatz — a tricaptain,
with twin Aaron
Schatz, the Trevians’ starting
libero, and Lieberman
— had to sit and wear street
clothes for most of the
2019 season. A severe back
injury limited him to action
in the first two matches.
But ask any of Alden
Schatz’s coaches or teammates,
and you’d hear
nothing but praise for his
relentless leadership and
infectious enthusiasm during
matches. He essentially
served as an assistant
coach, pulling down
the approximate salary of
a Miami-based snowplow
driver.
“Positivity is what I
preached all season,” said
Schatz, whose brother
amassed a match-high 15
digs against OPRF. “Our
team was a ‘familyhood’.
Each player knew he was
playing for the guys next
to him, not for himself.”
Trevians senior setter
Zach Salberg capped his
superb weekend with a
35-assist effort against the
Huskies. In New Trier’s
25-14, 25-23 state semifinal
loss to Glenbard West
earlier in the day, he stood
at a baseline, set to serve
with the score knotted at
7 in the second set. New
Trier won the next three
points, Salberg’s ace on
the second point highlighting
the promising stretch.
Glenbard West called
a timeout, regrouped and
won five of the next seven
points. The Hilltoppers
went up 17-16 after a quartet
of tie scores and would
not face another deficit in
the rematch of the 2016
state championship (won
by Glenbard West).
NT junior middle Emmett
Burnside contributed
three blocks in the thirdplace
match, and junior
outside hitter Patrick Condon
— who had recorded
only 12 kills, one assist and
24 digs during the regular
season — provided a kill,
an assist and three digs on
the big stage June 1.
“It’s not easy playing
for third place at state,”
said Haak, who cracked a
bright smile and hugged
her assistant coaches right
after the end of the thirdplace
contest. “The teams
are usually disappointed
they’re not playing for the
title. They’re both usually
exhausted, too. We kept
gritting it out, grinding
and grinding, going for
every ball, and we stayed
focused.
“I’m proud of our guys,
really proud. They fought
hard.”
New Trier’s third-place
finish was the program’s
fifth top-four showing at
state and third in the last
four seasons. Haak, owner
of an impressive 519-168
(.755) record after 18 years
at the school, guided the
Trevians to state runner-up
finishes in 2007 and 2016
and that fourth-place trophy
last spring.
Former Trevians boys
volleyball coach Debra
Kirch helmed NT’s state
championship squad in
1995.
Marist (40-2) downed
Glenbard West 25-21, 25-
23 in the state championship
match on June 1.