Just a few moments into the second game of its match at Palatine Tuesday night, it looked like Fremd was destined to fall victim to the dark omens of unlucky Number 13. After the Pirates took a 15-11 victory in Game 1, they looked poised to halt fourth-ranked Fremd’s winning streak at 12.
But Fremd held off Palatine by scoring three of the last four points of Game 2 and dominated the decisive third game for an 11-15, 15-12, 15-7 victory in the Mid-Suburban North.
Senior Eric Tellschow, who earned Tribune Athlete of the Week honors last week, led the Vikings with 20 kills and three blocks. Woytek Kawczynski (eight kills, 26 assists) and Chris Barker (13 kills) also made key contributions as Fremd (13-1, 5-0) overcame the well-known numerical jinx.
“When Palatine and Fremd play, there’s a lot more that comes into play than talent. There’s also emotion,” said Fremd coach Dave Boze. “We weren’t in sync all day, but you have to be happy with a win.”
Early on it looked more like Fremd’s possible demise could be attributed more to play of senior Dan Gavin than any superstitious jinx. Palatine (12-5, 3-2) took control of Game 1 with eight unanswered points, thanks mostly to Gavin.
Gavin recorded three of his team-high 15 kills and one of his eight blocks during the Pirate surge, and Dave Zech (nine kills) clinched the Game 1 victory with kills for points 14 and 15.
Fremd, which swept Lake Forest on Monday and dropped only one game in five matches while winning last weekend’s Saxon Invitational, found itself in unfamiliar territory–trailing the Pirates.
“You know that professionals can play at that level for a long time. But 17-year-old kids are going to have peaks and valleys,” Boze said. “They were kind of upset with their performance. They went out (in Game 2) with something to prove.”
After outlasting Palatine 15-12 in Game 2, Fremd asserted itself quickly in Game 3. The Pirates jumped to a 2-0 lead, but the Vikings responded by scoring 12 of the next 13 points for a 12-3 lead. Palatine crumbled down the stretch, allowing Fremd to score six times on its own miscues. Two consecutive kills by Barker held the Pirates at bay before a Kawczynski spike sealed the victory.
