Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Palos Heights — The St. Laurence Vikings (13-12) climbed back above the .500 mark on the season (.520) with a straight-set victory over the Alan B. Shepard Astros (14-11) on Monday, May 5.

“We’ve been practicing really hard,” explained third-year head coach Laura Bugarin of St. Laurence. “We just came out of the Smack Attack Brother Rice tournament, where we played some of the best competition in the state, and our guys played really, really well.”

Bugarin shared that her players are building momentum and confidence as the season progresses.

“They’re feeling really good going into the second half of our season, working really hard in the gym and in practice to gain our chemistry and see some good competition,” she added. “They’re holding each other accountable, and they have high expectations for how they want to end the season.”

The first set was a close battle with both teams trading points. For Shepard, junior outside hitter Dylan Harkala and sophomore middle hitter Connor Evans delivered strong performances at the net, each recording two kills and a block.

St. Laurence senior outside hitter Elijah Landeros helped keep the Vikings ahead with his aggressive swings, frequently going cross-court to break through Shepard’s defense. His efforts led to a 25-22 win in the opening set.

Landeros continued to apply pressure in the second set, this time getting more support from senior middle blocker Jorden Mayer. The Vikings edged out a 25-23 win to seal the match.

Final: St. Laurence 2, Alan B. Shepard 0.

Set 1: 25-22 | Set 2: 25-23

Mayer finished with five kills and a solo block, while Landeros led the team with ten kills, an ace, and a block to earn WCCN Player of the Game honors.

“I really just trust my teammates [and] trust myself,” noted Landeros. “It’s just about remembering what coach is telling us throughout the week, and then we go out here and execute.”

Mayer credited the team’s defense for the win.

“Middles wouldn’t be able to do it without their back row. That was definitely a huge part of it,” he said, highlighting a specific teammate. “Definitely Paul Rzadkosz, our libero… He’s an underclassman, and he’s out here playing his best game. He’s diving out there and getting his job done.”

Landeros echoed the praise for the defense.

“I think our back row is very strong,” he remarked. “We all work as a unit. We try to discipline ourselves and be all as one, and [to get] every ball up that we possibly can.”

Bugarin believes her team’s middle blockers set them apart.

“I think, in my opinion, we have two of the strongest middles at a varsity level right now,” she said. “A lot of teams have one really good one; I have two. As soon as we can start getting them in the match and scoring for us, they do a really good job—both 10 [Jorden Mayer] and 11 [Elijah Landeros].”

St. Laurence’s next scheduled game is against DePaul College Prep High School (12-11) on May 6.

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