New Trier dropped its first conference match of the season to Maine South on April 27, but had to rebound quickly as it faced rival Loyola on Friday, April 29.

“It’s Loyola,” New Trier’s Henry Lindstrom said. “It’s always going to be big. We know we have to come out strong, not give up and not let the fans get into our heads.”

New Trier got off to a rough start but was able to overcome the upset-minded Ramblers and win on the road 25-20, 25-19.

“It’s a crazy atmosphere, serving back there was a little awkward for us, we don’t really play here often and it’s a different look when you throw the ball up. I guess we just got adjusted to it,” the Trevians’ Peter Hindsley said.

Both teams started out somewhat shaky, with Loyola serving up three straight serving errors in their first three serves of the night. However, two service errors and the Ramblers’ ability to side-out kept them in a tie, even allowing them to take the lead on five occasions in the early going.

But once Brian Kaiser’s power slam gave the Trevians a 8-7 lead, they didn’t look back. The team went on a 6-2 run, giving itself a five-point cushion, one that Loyola wouldn’t be able to recover from. The Trevians got a kill each from Hindsley and Billy Fauntleroy and a Fauntleroy ace as well in the run.

Lindstrom led the Trevians with five kills in the set and Hindsley added four.
The Trevians (21-4) used the momentum at the end of the first set and got off to a roaring start in the second. Three kills from Lindstrom and two from Fauntleroy helped their squad get out to an 11-4 start, causing Loyola coach Lionel Ebeling to use his first timeout.
The Trevians had calmed down and seen something they could exploit.

“We noticed that on the outside, the block would camp out on the line and then at the last second move in so that opened up a lot of holes for us and we were able to take advantage,” Hindsley said.

“The first set, we saw what worked for them and what didn’t and then in the second set we were able to utilize our strengths against their weaknesses,” Lindstrom said. “We were able to pass a lot better, play cleaner and got more comfortable.”

Every time Loyola (17-10) would look to make a run, New Trier would counter it. The Ramblers were able to get the lead down to 14-10 thanks to kills by Steven Zapart and Matthew Byrne, as well as a couple New Trier errors, but that would be the closest the Ramblers would get the rest of the way.

Three kills by Hindsley helped trigger a 7-1 Trevian run that would extend the lead to 21-11.

Lindstrom would finish with nine kills and Hindsley finished with eight kills to lead the Trevians. Byrne had five kills and freshman Jack Howard four kills for the Ramblers in the loss.

“There’s always nerves,” said Howard, who was playing New Trier for the first time. “We need to forget the last point and move on. I think that’s one of our biggest weaknesses, but something we can work on and get better at.”

Loyola and New Trier have faced off in five of the last seven IHSA state playoffs and it seems as if the two are on course to do it again. Both teams are in the challenging Evanston Sectional, where potential opponents Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South and the host Wildkits will look to prevent a Trevians-Ramblers meeting sequel.

“We always want to know all we can about our opponents, especially ones in our sectional, so this match is great,” Lindstrom said. “We can come out swinging and see what works before playoff time comes.”

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