Christian Teresi’s stat line made teammate Marty Canavan laugh out loud.
Teresi, a sophomore setter/hitter, actually led Marist in five categories Wednesday night.
“I’ve never heard of anything like that,” Canavan said of the stellar all-around numbers that added up to a dominant triple-double. “He’s playing a crucial role on this team.”
Teresi’s versatile showcase featured 10 kills, 10 digs, 32 assists, three blocks and three aces in a 20-25, 25-23, 25-13 nonconference victory over Hinsdale Central in Chicago.
Canavan, a Ball State recruit, led the RedHawks (29-1) with nine kills. Nathen Toth added six and Alex Smith had five. Matt Ruth paced Hinsdale Central (17-7) with 11 kills.
Marist’s Jordan Vidovic, who also coaches the girls team, doesn’t have to go back too far to think of a player who put up monster numbers in several categories.
“Camryn Hannah,” Vidovic said of the 2020 graduate who helped Marist win two Class 4A state championships. “She kind of did it all. She used the physical abilities that she has, and it’s the same with Christian.
“When they have so much athletic ability and so much of a physical presence, you want to get as much as you can out of them.”
The 6-foot-2 Teresi has been playing both right-side hitter and setter. He was the East Suburban Catholic Conference’s player of the year last season and grew in the offseason.
He has a powerful swing, and if he continues to grow, will be even more dangerous.
Still, setting is his first love.
“I like both hitting and setting, but in the club season, I started hitting right side and got used to it,” Teresi said. “I personally like setting more and getting my outside hitters assists.”
Teresi also confirmed his future in college volleyball will likely be as a setter.
Hinsdale Central opened the season ranked No. 18 in the nation in the USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll but entered Wednesday’s match on a 1-4 slide.
The Red Devils looked more like a national powerhouse in the first game, taking a 20-13 lead and hanging on.
Marist led 17-10 in the second game but got into deep trouble trailing 23-20 before scoring five straight points. Teresi had a kill and a block in that final stretch.
The RedHawks, who had been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation, are No. 7 in this week’s poll. They play a strong schedule, and even though they didn’t play well in the first game, Vidovic liked how his team was pushed.
“They came out rockin’,” Vidovic said of the Red Devils. “I’m glad they played well because we needed that. There was a lot of energy for a regular-season game.
“We’ve had some tough tournament games the past few weeks, but it was great to have a match like this in the middle of the week.”
Even though Teresi looks proficient in so many phases of the game, he remains his toughest critic.
“I need to work on everything,” Teresi said. “Offense, defense. For setting, I need to help connect with the hitters better.”
Vidovic pointed out what Teresi has been doing as a sophomore is not easy.
“He has to switch at the flip of a hat to go from being a setter to a hitter and moving from the left side to the right side,” Vidovic said. “He’s mentally comfortable to do that.
“He reads the game well so well. It’s a lot harder than it looks to be able to change your mental mode in a game like that, but he is able to do it.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
