By Dominic Scianna
The two best teams in the Public League took the court on Thursday, May 18, at Little Village High School to determine the city champion in the CPL Boy’s Varsity Volleyball title match. The Dolphins of Whitney Young (22-8) came from behind in the decisive third set to win a thriller and edge the Eagles of Jones College Prep (25-10) by a score of 25-21, 21-25, 25-23 in a back and forth battle. Whitney Young scored the final four points in the third set after being down 23-21 to secure the victory and repeat as CPL champions for a second year in a row.
In late April, these two teams met and the Dolphins won a hard fought two-set match over the Eagles to set up this anticipated rematch.
“We knew they (Jones) were going to be tough to beat after playing them in the regular season,” said Whitney Young senior Tyler Tharpe, who will be attending Ohio State University on a volleyball scholarship this fall. “They’re very competitive (Jones) and have a really good outside hitter in Spencer Lee so we knew we had to play defense to win.”
Tharpe was the driving force in the victory with several highlight reel “spikes” as the “go-to” big hitter winning several huge points throughout the match. Dolphins head coach Michael Quevedo (a two-time CPL champion coach in his own right) also got strong performances from team members Marty O’Brien (libero) and senior Bryce Williams (outside hitter). Williams had the winning point in the third set to spark a wild championship celebration from the Whitney Young players, bench, and their fans in attendance.
O’Brien, a sophomore and two-year starter, has two city championships to his credit and plays the libero position as “quarterback” of this talented unit.
“We knew we had to keep pushing through and that’s what we kept telling each other on the court,” noted O’Brien. “Now I’ve been a part of two city championships with this team and I’m very happy to have won this match.”
And when asked what the future holds for this Dolphins (22-8)team, O’Brien said without blinking, “I’m hoping for more – maybe two more (city titles).”
For Jones (25-10) and coach Howard Hu it was a roller coaster of a battle that had him revving up the Eagles fans behind his bench the entire night. The atmosphere mimicked a state championship-style match with its intensity and strong play by both teams.
“We proved that we could hang with the best (Whitney Young). There’s nothing to hang our heads about and we gave the fans something amazing to watch,” said a proud Hu after the contest.
Hu acknowledged the hard work his team has put in as a group and lauded Lee, his star player, for leading the charge in the Eagles second set victory. And, Hu said smiling, “he’s only a junior.”
And the junior responded and rose to the occasion, matching Tharpe shot for shot as the two athletic players came up with big plays and timely “spikes” to the delight of the crowd.
“They’re a really great team (Whitney Young) and they were able to put their foot on the gas and get those final points but the season’s not over,” admitted Lee. “Hopefully we’ll play Whitney Young again in the sectionals (IHSA state playoffs) and if that happens it will be an exciting rematch. Everybody loves an underdog story and that’s been us. No one expected us to do this well.”
The Dolphins also head to the IHSA playoffs with hopes of bigger and better things at the state level competing against the best volleyball teams in Illinois.
“I was just trying to figure out ways to turn this match around,” said Williams, as the closing moments of the title contest unfolded for he and his Whitney Young squad. “Just being able to seal that last point was the highlight for me and to be able to do it with my teammates and coaches is special.”
