Reavis is standing tall in the South Suburban Conference, though its roster says otherwise.
“Our freshman team is actually taller than our varsity,” Reavis coach Mike Jebens said. “It’s cool to have a great season and not be the most physically powerful team. Our seniors have embraced that.”
With no players over 6-foot-2, Reavis is forced to play quick and scrappy for its second-year coach. Jebens, a 2010 Andrew graduate who played four years at Carthage, said it helps having outside hitter Radek Bryja and a mentally tough team.
“Radek jumps out of the gym,” Jebbins said. “When he’s on-tempo, no team has been able to stop him. He’s only been blocked maybe a few times this year.”
Bryja’s been an offensive force, averaging more than nine kills per match, and the Rams (18-9-3, 4-0) sit atop the South Suburban with hopes of capturing their first title since 2010.
“Our setter Moises Zavala and our libero Johnny Moczarny deserve a lot of attention,” Bryja said. “Johnny’s a great passer, and my setter does a good job of placing the ball. We run a fast-tempo offense, and if I get a quick ball, I can pound it down.”
Bryja helped Reavis reach a regional final last season, but he’s taken a major jump his senior year.
“I played club this year for the first time, and playing volleyball nonstop really helped,” Brjya said.
Two others on his Chicago Volleyball Club team are Zavala and fellow outside hitter David Grecek, who’s turning in a nice season of his own. Another player to watch is right-side hitter Daniel Szuba, though he might not look like a typical volleyball player. Szuba was the starting center for Reavis’ football team.
Seeding aftermath: Playoff brackets are out, and one of the more intriguing regionals in the Brother Rice Sectional is at Lockport, where the No. 4 Porters (18-9) could host No. 6 Sandburg (14-12) in the finals.
“I’m a math guy, so I was playing out all the scenarios,” Lockport coach Nick Mraz said. “I thought us and Lincoln-Way Central would be the four and five seeds, but since we’d both host, I knew the five seed had to host the three, so it was four seed or bust.”
Mraz was on the money. Lincoln-Way Central (19-12) received the fifth seed and hosts No. 3 Marist (28-4), a team with just one loss in the last month.
“We knew the top three seeds,” Mraz said of Lincoln-Way East, Brother Rice and Marist. “Those are arguably the top three teams in the state right now.”
It’s hard for Lockport not to look ahead while trying to win its third regional title in program history, but Mraz knows the Porters can’t get ahead of themselves. Sandburg, behind outside hitters Will Marks and Cort Jensen, beat Lockport last week and appear to be peaking at the right time.
Lockport’s hoping to eliminate errors and counter with outside hitter Kyle Dixon and do-everything senior Anthony Pfeiffer.
“Teams game plan to shut down Pfeiffer, but Dixon has really impressed us this year,” Mraz said.
Libero love: The attackers get all the glory, but every rally starts with a pass.
A few standout liberos sparking rallies include Brother Rice’s Tommy Kleist, Marist’s Brady Mack, Lincoln-Way Central’s Sebastian Olmos, Lincoln-Way East’s Danny Pacini and Reavis’ Moczarney. Sandburg freshman Jeremiah Burden has also impressed.
Logan Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Boys Volleyball Top 10
Records through Tuesday, last week’s ranking in parentheses
1. Marist 28-4 (1)
2. Lincoln-Way East 29-3 (2)
3. Brother Rice 27-5 (3)
4. Lincoln-Way West 24-7 (4)
5. Lincoln-Way Central 19-12 (5)
6. Sandburg 14-12 (9)
7. Lockport 18-9 (6)
8. St. Rita 16-17 (7)
9. Providence 13-13-1 (8)
10. Reavis 18-9-3 (10)
Player of the Week: Richards sophomore Alex Costa put down 48 kills in his last three South Suburban matches, including 21 in a victory over Eisenhower. The outside hitter adds a booming serve, with 43 aces on the year.
