August Werner didn’t climb to the top of the area’s kills leaders without having a versatile amount of swings at his disposal.
But the Belleville East outside hitter showed a new trick Tuesday night, putting down a dig for a spike in the second set of a non-conference boys volleyball match at St. Louis U. High.
“I mean, I saw it open and I just had to put it out there,” Werner quipped.
“That’s probably his favorite of the night,” East coach Joe Nesbit said.
The “kill” was part of a 16 kill effort for Werner as he helped lead East to a 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-21 win.
Last year, the Lancers became the first Metro East team ever to knock off SLUH, a perennial Missouri power. This year, the Lancers became the first metro east team to do it in SLUH’s gym.
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“We're able to handle anything,” Werner said. “We've been right in every single match. We're competing with the best teams in the area and in the state. And I really like our team. I like our odds this year.”
Jack Byers blasted 13 kills and Keegan Rose had 40 assists for East (18-2).
Luke Schall and Anthony Bene each had 12 kills for SLUH (5-5). Tom Skouby and Ollie Manalang combined for 38 assists.
Kills from Sebastian Schultz and Werner helped East shake off a plucky Jr. Billikens squad late in the fourth set.
A Rose ace that trickled off the top of the net gave the Lancers match point and a SLUH serving error ended the 1 hour, 45-minute match.
“I knew we just had to get our middles involved,” Rose said. “I know August was getting shut down on the outside for a few points there, so we to get Caleb (Day) and Sebastian in the game to make their middles a little confused and I think our middles did a great job of that. Tyce Watson on the right side did a great job too.”
SLUH lost for the fourth time in its last five matches.
Lancers hold on
Jack Krausz’s serve sparked a 4-0 run that helped pull SLUH even late in the first set, but Werner responded with a pair of kills to give East set point and a net violation call clinched the opener for the Lancers.
Beyers put down six kills in the frame for East.
East rolls
Werner put down several early kills, including one the one off his dig, as the Lancers surged to an early lead in the second set and never looked back. Beyers had a big swing off a freeball and a Watson block gave the Lancers a 2-0 lead.
Werner had six kills in the second set.
“In the first two sets, we were just trying to keep the game small,” Nesbit said. “And I think mentally we did a great job managing the game in sets one and two.”
SLUH fights back
Ben Bartell had an ace and his serve sparked a key 7-0 run for the Jr. Billikens late in the third set. Miles Rittenhouse had a pair of blocks and Schall put down a kill during the salvo.
A David Justice spike for SLUH sent the match into a fourth set.
“I think we threw a brand-new lineup in set three that we've never tried,” SLUH coach Jeff Cheak said. “I love how hard they worked there and how much energy they put into it. It wasn't the cleanest game, but they just worked and became louder as a team and that's kind of what we needed in that moment. So, I was proud of them.”
Singing the Jr. Billikens blues
SLUH’s recent skid has coincided with a rash of key injuries.
Starting setter Adam Westhoff has been out since April 1 with a concussion and Krausz, a reigning all-metro first teamer, left the match against East after injuring his shoulder on a kill in the second set.
Cheak hopes to have Westhoff back as soon as this weekend. He said Krausz has been dealing with shoulder soreness and he hopes the injury isn’t serious.
“We'll see what Jack's situation is,” Cheak said. “Hopefully we'll get Adam back ... We'll find out over the next couple of days if he's back or not.”
Up next
Belleville East: Hosts O’Fallon at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Panthers took all three matches against the Lancers last season.
SLUH: Opens pool play against Nixa in the Parkway Central Tournament at 4:30 p.m. Friday. This is the first meeting between the Jr. Billikens and Nixa.