The Lake Park Lancers will be taking part in a tournament against the Hinsdale Central Red Devils at 6:45 p.m. on Friday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Lake Park is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Illinois' top teams: Glenbard West, who was ranked third at the time (Lake Park was ranked 11th). The Lancers fell just short of the Hilltoppers by a score of 2-1 on Wednesday. It was the first time this season that the Lancers let down their fans at home.
The match came down to the wire multiple times:two sets needed extra rallies to declare a winner. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 24-26, 25-16, 26-24.
Despite the loss, Lake Park saw an underclassman step up: freshman Jake Ellenbecker had 15 assists and four digs.
Meanwhile, Hinsdale Central was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their sixth straight defeat. They fell 2-0 to Andrew.
Hinsdale Central may have fallen short, but they were sure consistent: they scored 21 points in every single set they played. The final score came out to 25-21, 25-21.
Lake Park will have to contain Harry Hughes as he made an impact in Hinsdale Central's last game. He had 23 assists and four digs. Hughes is on a roll when it comes to assists, as he's now posted 19 or more in each of the last four games he's played. Rudra Patel also deserves some recognition as he served his first ace of the season.
Lake Park suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 14-3. As for Hinsdale Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's matchup: Lake Park has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 4.8 aces per game. It's a different story for Hinsdale Central, though, as they've been averaging only 2.1 aces. Given Lake Park's sizable advantage in that area, the Red Devils will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lake Park came out on top in a nail-biter against Hinsdale Central in their previous meeting back in April of 2023, sneaking past 2-1. Do the Lancers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Red Devils turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
