Although the Francis Howell North boys volleyball team historically has had little success against Francis Howell Central, the Knights got the best of the Spartans this year.
A three-set win over Central on April 14 was big for two reasons: it was the first time the Knights had beaten their sister-school rival in at least five years; and it was ultimately the difference in Howell North winning the Gateway Athletic Conference for a second consecutive year.
North claimed the first of those league titles by winning the GAC Tournament, which was scrapped this year in favor of a crossover tournament with the Suburban conferences. Instead, GAC coaches opted to award the conference title to the team with the best regular-season league record.
And Howell North's 6-1 mark in the GAC, coupled with the win over Central (6-1) as the tiebreaker, was good enough to bring it home again. The Knights finished 23-11-1 overall and advanced to the Class 4 state tournament, losing to St. Louis University High in the first round.
The Knights played eventual state champion Oakville (35-0) tough twice, both times pushing the match to a third set. The Tigers dropped just eight games all season.
"We had a great season even with all of the changes we had to make," Howell North coach Ryan VonFeldt said. "We had some younger middles playing for us as well as a brand new setter. Overall we did a pretty good job."
Francis Howell North
The Knights were a much different team than they were last season when much of their offense went through one spotlight player.
This year they had two such spotlight players in seniors Brian Rogan and Ethan Bohnert, who were selected as North representatives on the all-conference first team.
Despite beginning the year in the setter's role, Rogan made a seamless transition to outside hitter and finished third among conference players with 250 kills. His 245 digs and 54 blocks demonstrate his versatility between the back and front rows.
"Brian was the guy we looked at to be our setter but we had to move him to outside hitter because of injuries," VonFeldt said. "He's one of the better players I've coached and he finished in the top five of about every (statistical) category in the GAC.
"When he's on, he's a player to reckon with."
That was especially true for the Quincy University recruit when found his groove as a server. Rogan led the conference with 55 aces.
Bohnert also switched positions -- from middle to outside -- partway through the season to help his team. He was fifth in the conference with 238 kills, added 32 aces and 234 digs, and will play in college at Lindenwood University-Belleville.
"He's made himself better with hard work and I wish I had six more (players) just like him," VonFeldt said of Bohnert. "It was great having two dominant outside hitters. It made us hard to contend with."
Francis Howell Central
While they had a successful season in going 26-8-2 overall, the Spartans did not have a surprise playoff run in them this time around.
The Class 4 runner-up the past two years, Howell Central could not get by CBC in the quarterfinals and settled for a season that Coach Mark McAfee said in some ways was an underachievement.
"If you win 26 games it's hard to be disappointed," McAfee said. "But it's the first time in I can't remember how many years we didn't win a tournament or a conference title at any level. To me that's kind of a fluke. We came into the season with high expectations and ... (things happened) that kept us from reaching our potential. We just never really came together. There were times when we played well, but overall I don't feel we hit some of the milestones we felt we should have hit this year."
One player who reached several personal milestones was senior Logan Jarus, who was selected as the conference Player of the Year.
Jarus, who will play for Lindenwood University in St. Charles, led the conference with 95 blocks, setting a new school single-season record. And as a three-year varsity starter he compiled 257 career blocks, also a school record.
"He did pretty much what much what he was expected to do," McAfee said. "He finished with 211 kills, and about midway through the season we started letting him play all the way around. He did a nice job in the back row and at the service line. I don't know if he could have done much more for us than what he did."
While Howell Central had several capable players even beyond Jarus, junior Jack Gamache emerged as a key piece to the puzzle as an outside hitter.
He was fourth in the conference in both kills (246) and digs (284) and was the league leader in serves-received (507). His kills mark set a school record for most in a single season under rally-scoring format.
"If it's not Logan, Jack's the one we want handling the ball," McAfee said. "We had high expectations for him as well and he came through with everything we asked and more."
Fort Zumwalt South
Fort Zumwalt South's season ended in a familiar place -- the Class 3 quarterfinal round.
That's where the Bulldogs' season came to a close for a third consecutive year. This time it was Parkway Central that kept them from obtaining a coveted spot in the final four.
"That's definitely a goal we're all looking forward to next year," Zumwalt South coach Matt Whitmore said. "As long as we're free of injuries we should be back in the mix again next year."
Zumwalt South (17-14-1, 4-2 GAC) was home to the league's most outstanding setter in junior Leo Speno. His 654 assists led all conference players and he was third with 38 aces.
"This was his third year on varsity and we're excited to have him back next year," Whitmore said. "He does a very good job being a captain for us. He knows the game well and everyone has the utmost respect for what he does on the court."
Fort Zumwalt West
A late-season turnaround for Fort Zumwalt West came pretty much from out of nowhere.
The Jaguars (18-13-3, 3-4), first thought by Coach Scott Clynes to be in a rebuilding year, won just four of their first 15 matches and in that stretched sustained an eight-match winless streak.
Then something clicked, and Zumwalt West closed out the year with wins in 14 of its final 19 contests.
"The kids did something on the court that made that happen," Clynes said. "I didn't change my lineup and didn't make too many substitutions. The kids just became confident."
For his part in the Jaguars' turnaround, senior outside hitter Jimmy Pace was recognized as a first-team player. He finished with 189 kills and 187 digs.
"Every team has a go-to person and he was our guy," Clynes said. "When we got in a crunch, he'd just whale away."
Francis Howell
Like its two sister schools, Francis Howell (21-12-1, 5-2) also managed to reach the 20-win plateau.
The Vikings won the Fort Zumwalt South Tournament at midseason but the journey ended with a three-set loss to Oakville.
Howell was led by conference kills leader Joel Durci, who slammed 289 on the year. As a senior he was second in the conference with 50 serving aces and added 46 blocks.
"Joel's a player who teams have to game plan for," Howell coach Justin Young said earlier this season. "Everybody looks at him and sees the great hitter and the great blocker ... (but he was also) solid defensively."
