For the Bison, the initials B.G. generally stand for Buffalo Grove.
After the play of their middle hitter on Tuesday, however, fans might instead remember those letters for “Big Guy” or “Brian Gerken.”
The 6-foot-5 senior finished with 10 kills and six blocks, while containing the middle in Buffalo Grove’s 9-15, 15-13, 15-10 victory over Mid-Suburban North rival Palatine.
“Brian was just outstanding,” coach Kyle Reid praised. “He dominated the middle. He’s an intense player who controls a lot of big hitters.”
The host Bison (15-6, 7-1) trailed 13-12 in Game 2 until Jay Stec tied the score with a kill. Gerken took matters into his own hands moments later with consecutive blocks for points to send the match into a third game.
Seven misplayed Palatine hits, along with another Gerken block, helped the Bison race to an 8-1 advantage in the deciding contest. The Pirates scored the next two points, but another Stec kill and a Gerken block regained Buffalo Grove’s seven-point advantage.
“We played with a lot of heart in that second game. We could have easily rolled over when we were down 12-8,” Reid said. “Instead we came back and we were able to carry that second-game win into momentum for the third game.”
Palatine (17-8, 5-3) drew to within 10-7 on Dave Zech’s devestating kill, before the Bison put the game out of reach on kills by Scott Miller and Matt Aiello, and Brent Agran’s third ace of the evening. Game point came off a serve from Miller.
“Buffalo Grove has an outstanding middle game,” noted Palatine coach Curt Pinley. “They controlled the middle, and it cost us.”
The Pirates overcame an early 8-5 deficit in Game 1 by outscoring Buffalo Grove 10-1 down the stretch. Jim Davis, who finished with 13 kills, provided much of the thunder, along with Jason Betke, who scored on a block to win the game.
Dan Ahern and Aiello each finished with 14 kills, while Agran and Aiello set the frontcourt with 27 and 21 assists, respectively.
