Marist senior Rorey Donnelly got a surprise on March 29.
It wasn’t that the defending boys volleyball state champion RedHawks won their own tournament by beating Downers Grove North 25-18, 25-18.
Instead, it was that he was named tourney MVP after delivering 15 digs and five assists as the RedHawks (6-0) won their invitational for a seventh straight season.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Donnelly said. “But I’ve been working hard for the team to put them in the best position. I started playing volleyball in sixth grade. I used to be an outside hitter, but I’m only 5-foot-10, so I made the switch to libero last year.”
Marist coach Jordan Vidovic has seen Donnelly accept his new job.
“Rorey fits exactly what that role is, and he’s embraced it,” Vidovic said. “He’s one of our captains, and he’s stepped into that leadership role. He still plays outside hitter for us at times, too. What he brings to the game makes everyone better. The other coaches noticed that too, and that’s why he was named MVP.”
There was no need for Donnelly to be an outside hitter in the title match. Returning All-Stater Nate Toth had that role covered, especially in the second set.
Toth served five straight points, including an ace, and also had a kill in a 6-0 run. Toth finished with eight kills, including the match-winner.
“It’s just the vision to handle different situations,” Vidovic said of Toth coming through in the big moments. “He’s done it throughout. It’s not about outside stuff, it’s about enjoying the journey and continuing to step forward.
“Nate understands that. He takes the younger players under his wing and tells them to embrace the struggles and enjoy overcoming the challenges.”
Toth likes that role.
“It’s definitely a thing we’re working on,” Toth said. “We have 10 seniors on the team, and we’re working hard. We can goof off, but the thing is that we can tell each other at any time to pick it up.
“Yes, we won it last year.. But this is something we work for nine months out of the year. To culminate our senior year with another championship would mean everything.”
Christian Teresi added eight kills, three blocks, and nine assists at his right side/setter position. Middle blocker Griffin McElroy managed seven kills and four blocks, fellow senior Jacob Finley dished out 16 assists, and sophomore Nick Mayoski added five digs and three aces in the title match for Marist.
The RedHawks hope to make a run back to another title this season.
“That was fun, and we’ve got a lot of people back,” Donnelly said. “But each year is different. We just want to focus on our team.”
In the semifinals, Marist defeated Lincoln-Way Central 25-15, 25-17.
By winning a tiebreaker in its pool, Mount Carmel advanced to the Gold Bracket. The Caravan (3-4) lost all three games in the bracket, including 19-25, 25-22, 15-11 in the seventh-place match to the Marist JV team. But they expect good things this season.
“We’re really happy,” Mount Carmel first-year coach Mary Kate Byrnes said. “We got a lot of extra matches against good teams. We needed this good competition.
“We have a lot (13) of seniors, but we’ve had two sophomores, Michael Carr and Mihailo Popovic, step up. Also, our senior left-handed right side hitter, Aydin Provost, does it all for us.”