When Marist’s Ethan Kuziela was in fourth grade, he was told he had “good hands.”
That assessment came from his mother, who doesn’t work at Allstate but knows good setters when she sees them. Anne Eastman-Kuziela, a director for the Elite Volleyball club program, was a star player at Mother McAuley and in college at Illinois.
Besides getting Ethan involved with setting, Anne still works with him on his game.
“It’s perfect for me because I struggle with the middle balls when middles go to attack,” said Ethan, who’s now a junior. “She played middle in high school and college, and we work on that so I can better read the middle.
“We work on it during open gym. She’s still got it.”
With sophomore setter Christian Teresi making a huge impact this spring as a hitter, Kuziela is getting more reps and responsibility during matches in a 6-2 rotation.
Case in point? Kuziela had 16 assists Wednesday night as the host RedHawks took a 25-15, 25-17 victory over Joliet Catholic for first place in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
Alex Smith had seven kills and two blocks for Marist (30-1, 7-0), while Nathen Toth had six kills and Luke Brannigan, Teresi and Marty Canavan each added five. Brendan Schoeberl contributed eight digs.
Miles Czerkies led Joliet Catholic (20-7, 6-1) with five kills. Carter Holbrook and Luke Pekol each had four.
Having the dangerous Teresi being used on a part-time basis as a setter and then as an extra-hard hitter would not work that well if Kuziela wasn’t effective as a setter.
“He’s new to varsity so there was definitely a learning curve for the first month or so,” Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said. “He’s catching on to those little things that you need at this next level of setting.
“He brings a lot of good placement and a lot of good control and location with his hands, which we need with the hitters that we have. But at this level, you have to make decisions and understand the game. You can’t just stand there and set.”
Vidovic, who said he has been pushing Kuziela hard in practice, is happy with Kuziela’s progress.
“He’s taking the challenges in stride and getting more and more comfortable,” Vidovic said of Kuziela. “He’s learning how to play the speed of this game.”
Smith also said he’s working well with Kuziela.
“This is his first year on the varsity and he’s definitely playing a big role for us,” Smith said. “At the beginning of the season, we weren’t sure how this was going to shake out, but personally, I think he has done pretty well.”
Joliet Catholic had a tough two-day stretch in conference actiom as the Hilltoppers prevailed 32-30, 25-20 Tuesday over Marian Catholic at home.
“We played two very good teams back to back,” JCA coach Jeff Budz said. “It’s rough, but when you are getting ready for the playoffs, this is what you expect.
“(Wednesday night) definitely displayed we have some work to do. But luckily, we have time to make some corrections, and I think we can make some noise.”
Marist, which has been making noise all season, is ranked sixth in the nation according to Wednesday’s USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The RedHawks were scheduled to play Thursday at No. 5 Glenbard West.
With the 6-2 formation clicking in high gear, however, the RedHawks hope to make even more noise in the playoffs in the upcoming weeks.
“I’m glad how this is turning out,” Kuziela said. “Christian is a pretty good hitter and putting up big numbers.
“It’s perfect for the team, and this is what we need.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
