Dan Shalin’s boys volleyball notes

Volleyball has been very, very good to Benet boys coach Amy Van Eekeren, but she has also given her all to the sport.

Van Eekeren, who recently passed the 500-victory coaching milestone, was an All-American as a player at the University of Illinois, and then went on to a successful high school coaching career that included a long run at Naperville Central leading the Redhawks boys to a state championship in 1998. Her teams have also won two sectionals, 10 regional titles and five conference championships.

She coached the Redhawks boys from 1997 to 2005 to a record of 385-170 and coached the girls team to 115-33 mark from 1999 to 2002.

At Benet, Van Eekeren was named East Suburban Catholic Conference Coach of the Year in both 2006 and 2011. The 2006 team, which was the Redwings first year of boys volleyball, went 32-1.

“That team was very special,” Van Eekeren said. “The kids and the parents fought so hard just to get a program at Benet. They had a lot of pride in the school, which made it so much fun to coach.”

One of the great thrills for Van Eekeren as she looks back over the years is that she’s had the opportunity to give back to the sport that she feels has done so much for her.

“Marty Bee hired me at Naperville Central when I had never coached before,” Van Eekeren said. “And then Gary Goforth gave me this wonderful opportunity at Benet. I appreciate the support they’ve given me. The best way to give back is to teach kids the sport you love. While at Illinois I had the chance to travel all over the world as a player. And as a coach, I’ve been blessed by having so many great kids who love the sport and want to work together. Every year is a new adventure.”

Van Eekeren and her husband Alex have four children. The coach is thrilled that their oldest, Jackson, 14, is a member of the Benet freshman team.

Wildcats moving ahead

Neuqua Valley, which has a whole new starting lineup this year, has started to develop a little ahead of schedule.

The Wildcats were the highest finishing Naperville-area school at the recent Tiger Classic at Wheaton Warrenville South, winning the Silver Division.

Neuqua Valley finished ninth overall in a tournament that featured many of the top teams in the state and even one of the better teams in Ohio.

Wildcat setter Alex Coyle was named to the All-Tournament team.

“The guys are playing well,” Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza said. “We have a very balanced team in terms of kills. There’s no one person the opponents can key on. As a setter, Alex plays very smart. He’s a good distributor, he’s totally in control of the offense and he doesn’t lose his composure. This whole team is very steady and they’re driven to succeed.”

In finishing 4-1 at the Tiger Classic, the Wildcats received major contributions from many people, including libero Matt Porter and outside hitters Cal Rafferty and Jeremy Royko.

“I’m very proud of the way the boys played,” said Mendoza. “We beat Brother Rice, Stagg and New Trier, three very highly regarded teams. And in our one loss in pool play, we had match-point in set three before losing to Sandburg. A lot of guys got playing time and it was nice to get them on the floor in such a high-quality tournament.”

Last weekend, Neuqua Valley (12-2) raised the bar even further by winning the Springfest tournament for the first time. In the tournament hosted by Glenbard East, the Wildcats defeated Downers South 25-20, 25-27, 25-19 in the final.

Metea climbing

This is a coming-of-age year for the Metea Valley boys volleyball program.

The Mustangs, who went 24-11 last season, recently won the Joliet West tournament for the second year in a row.

Outside hitter Martin Krasuski, who has grown to 6-feet-4, has developed into one of the dominant hitters in the state (he already has 100 kills) and his supporting cast led by setter Andrew Miller and middle hitter Shiv Desai, is looking first-rate.

“We’ve improved since last year and that’s exciting,” Metea Valley coach John Aister. “But there’s still so much room to grow. I don’t see many teams out there that we can’t compete with.”

Krasuski is an outstanding student who scored a 35 on the ACT and will be attending MIT in the fall.

He has improved his all-around game. He is hitting at a .400 percentage, and he also has 10 aces, nine blocks and 26 digs.

“He’s become a super player,” Aister said. “There’s no shot he can’t hit. He’s upped his tempo and his power. He could start for any team.”