In a packed Beardsley gymnasium, a tied 25-25 second set brought Kits fans hope for a last-set Evanston comeback against New Trier. After the teams traded points, Evanston would have the chance to force a third set after two consecutive kills, but fell short by missing a serve and losing on a violation to end the game. The Kits ended up falling 21-25, 29-31 to the Trevians.
“The mistakes were just mental,” senior Tyler Stern said. “We need to get back into the gym and work on them.”
With senior Tyler Tang out while dealing with an injury, senior Jacques Philippe drew the start. Both teams started off even in the first set, with Philippe tying the game at 3-3, but New Trier quickly pulled away. New Trier’s David Wolff, a New Trier commit, finished off a four-point lead with a kill, leading to an Evanston timeout.
Momentum switched in favor of Evanston after kills from Stern and senior Dillon Malow-Williams cut the Trevian lead to 21-19 and caused the visitors to call a timeout and regroup.
“I think you have to have the mentality of the next point [mattering the most],” Stern said. “That was a great point or that was a great block… but that point [needs to be] behind us, and now we have to focus on the next point.”
The Trevs jumped right back to the type of control that they had earlier in set, while unforced errors on Evanston’s side resulted in them dropping the first set, 21-25. Missed serves especially hurt the Kits throughout the set
The Trevians continued to get right back into the driver’s seat, going up 13-8 before an ensuing Evanston timeout. Evanston made adjustments and junior Kaloyan Mirtchev’s kill and block cut the Trevians’ lead to just 2 points. Both teams went back-and-forth to the finish line, but New Trier stayed steady and closed the Kits out late, 31-29.
Evanston moved to 10-8 (1-3 CSL) is now 1-3 in conference, and 9-6 in total. They face off against Rockford Auburn in the Grayslake North Invite.
“We need to get in the gym and have efficient, powerful, and energetic practices,” Stern says.
