Baronti leads BG boys volleyball team past Vernon Hills

Bison advance to state tournament with three-game victory.

Published By John Juettner on 6/02/2010

Buffalo Grove displays its sectional championship trophy.
Story and Photos By: Alex Mayster
      Buffalo Grove’s Nick Baronti may not have been the only Bison boys volleyball player standing tall after the Bison’s 25-22, 23-25, 35-33 sectional championship victory over Vernon Hills on Tuesday, but the 6-foot-9 senior certainly stood the tallest.
      Baronti’s 22 kills and seven assists helped propel Buffalo Grove through an intense Game 3 to send the Bison (30-5) to this weekend’s state tournament as champions of the Palatine sectional.
      “He’s just an amazing volleyball player,” Buffalo Grove coach Matt Aiello said. “Everyone looks at him and thinks he’s just big and tall. He showed tonight that he’s willing to do anything it takes for this team.”
      Baronti came up empty on multiple kill opportunities with match point on the line, but the senior kept on fighting.
      “We had a couple match points against us,” Baronti said. “It’s really hard to deal with, we really had to step up.”
      After failing to capitalize on four match points in Game 3, Baronti had his potential match-winning kill blocked in the 33-32 game. The block, which would have soared out of bounds, caught Baronti on the shoulder, giving the Cougars a point.
      “He just turned and smiled,” Aiello said. “When I see Nick with a smile on his face, I know we’re not losing.”
      Buffalo Grove’s Mike Jambrone (18 kills) put the Bison up 34-33 with a kill on the next possession and Chris Shanahan (22 kills, seven assists) ended it as a Vernon Hills return attempt on Shanahan’s spike soared into the stands.
      Shanahan said after the game that it made no difference to him who ended up scoring the winning point.
      “Our team won tonight,” he said. “I had points where I’d be down and someone else would pick me up. That’s what it’s all about. The way we won was pretty exciting. Hopefully it will give us some good momentum heading into state.”
      With the win, Buffalo Grove advances to the state tournament for the fourth time in five years. The Bison will meet Maine South Friday at 5 p.m. in the state championship quarterfinals at Hoffman Estates.
      Buffalo Grove got out to a 20-12 lead in Game 1 before the Cougars began to mount a comeback. Vernon Hills pulled to within two in a 24-22 game before the Bison closed it out.
      “We came out careful,” Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry said. “We didn’t make mistakes, we didn’t come about weak, we were just careful. … We’re not good careful.”
      Vernon Hill rebounded to take the second game 25-23 before the Bison won the extended third game.
      “What it came down to was two awesome volleyball teams refusing to let up,” Aiello said. “To see my guys respond the way they did, with only two seniors, I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Alex Mayster can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 847-902-9096