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By Phil Brozynski
It's been a bad week for ranked teams.
No. 3 Buffalo Grove, No. 5 Neuqua Valley, No 6 Hinsdale Central and No. 7 St. Francis all went down this week.
Buffalo Grove (26-5) was stunned in three games Wednesday by Fremd (28-6) in the Mid-Suburban League championship game, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive league wins by the Bison.
Neuqua Valley (31-3) was derailed Monday by Minooka, whose only previous claim to fame was a 25-10, 25-21 whipping by Hinsdale Central earlier this year. Neuqua Valley and Minooka should meet again next Wednesday in the regional title game at Neuqua.
Hinsdale Central (30-4) lost Thursday at Morton (25-5), which got 15 kills from 5-11 outside hitter Jonathan Hernandez Hernandez had 10 kills in Morton's win over Addison Trail on Tuesday which clinched the Mustangs' second West Suburban Gold title.
St. Francis (28-7) was upended by Lyons, but setter Mike Segneri sat out for precautionary reasons. Segneri has been battling illness the last couple of weeks, but is expected to be well enough to play in next week's regional.
Meanwhile, the Catholic League tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at St. Ignatius, and unlike previous years when it was a mere formality and the crowning of Brother Rice was a given, any of five teams has a legitimate chance to walk off with the league title.
Loyola (26-4), with junior Reis Foster on the outside, is the No. 1 seed, followed by Brother Rice, despite its 16-14 overall record. St. Rita (18-9), which played so well early in the season, is seeded fifth behind St. Ignatius (23-6) and Providence.
The championship is tentatively scheduled for Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Finally, here are my picks (you can add your own) for the state quarterfinals June 5: Neuqua Valley vs. Wheaton Warrenville South, St. Patrick vs. Morton, Buffalo Grove vs. Fremd, Loyola vs. Marist.
Semifinal pairings? Who knows, but WW South and Marist should meet in the finals. And if WW South plays anything like it did when the two teams met at Richards earlier this month, the Tigers will win their third consecutive state title.
Let the drama begin.
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Morton deserved to win. They have a very good team but to be fair to the Red Devils, team captains and starting setter Justin Diaz and middle Alex Andre were ill and were not at the game.
My Picks:
WWS over Neuqua
Morton over St Pats
Deerfield over Glenbard North
Marist over Loyola
Semis
WWS over Morton
Deerfield over Marist
Final
WWS over Deerfield
Quarters
WWS over Neuqua
St Rita over OPRF
Glenbrook North over Glenbard North
Marist over New Trier
Semis
WWS over St Rita
Glenbrook North over Marist
Finals
WWS over Glenbrook North
My picks:
WWS over Neuqua Valley
Morton over St. Patrick
Buffalo Grove over Glenbard North
New Trier over Marist
Semi-Finals
WWS over Morton
New Trier over Buffalo Grove
Final
WWS over New Trier
Hey its good to see Fremd getting some recognition. The're a solid team who can go far.
ST. Pats? who are they and they're good? I like OPRF out of that sectional...
My Picks:
WWS d. Nequa
St. Rita d. OPRF
BG d. Glenbard North
Marist d. Maine South
Semis:
St. Rita d. WWS
BG d. Marist
Finals
St. Rita d. BG
I go to a schools that doesn't have a chance at making it down state, so I guess that's why I favor the underdogs!
I think loyola needs some to be talked about they have beat some good teams.
I think Loyola should be given more credit and i agree they will make it downstate
wws will wax the floor with st. rita, they are just too big and too talented. not to mention the playoff experience and unmatched will to win in june.