Addison Trail coach Chad Grant finally got a glimpse of what his team might look like in a week or two.
Joey Nasti, who missed the first month of the season after breaking his collarbone in a snowboarding accident, had 13 assists and three kills Tuesday to lead the Blazers to a 25-7, 25-9 victory over Morton in the West Suburban Gold.
The 6-3 senior setter had only practiced twice before making his debut Tuesday, but Grant liked what he saw.
“I thought he would be a little more rusty, to be honest with you,” Grant said. “But he was up there taking some tight balls off the net, putting them where our hitters could put the ball away. I’m very pleased.
“He’s a senior, he sets a really nice ball, and him being up there at the net and being 6-foot-3 and being able to jump-set keeps blockers off balance. It makes all the world of difference for us. Other than our serving for a little bit in Game 1, we were incredibly efficient in all areas.”
Nasti, who will run a 5-1 after splitting time with Kevin Grygo last spring, said his collarbone is very close to 100 percent.
“It was terrible not playing,” Nasti said. “I couldn’t wait to come out and play. I’m finally out there. It’s the best. Hitters like Alex (Dickmann) and Jack (Vrchota), they help me out a lot. They’re leaders of the team. They helped me get back into it quickly.”
Dickmann had nine kills and two blocks and Jonathan Valentini added three kills and three aces for Addison Trail (9-3, 3-0), which returns five starters from last year’s sectional semifinalist.
“The goals are pretty high for these guys,” Grant said. “They want to take the next step and get downstate this year, and they’re going to work hard to do that. Today was another step toward that. As long as we keep looking better every day, which we have, good things will happen.”
However, the Blazers will be shorthanded for six matches beginning Saturday when senior middle hitter Kannon Nelms departs for the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida. He will not return until after the Blazers face Downers South next Tuesday.
“Hopefully, after Tuesday everyone’s together for the rest of the year,” Grant said. “It looks good when we have everyone out there.”
Morton coach Tony Hornilla, on the other hand, hopes it looks good in a year or two when his roster has a little more seasoning. The Mustangs graduated 11 seniors from last year’s state quarterfinal team and have just two seniors and two juniors on their 15-man roster.
Marc Ramirez, one of nine sophomores on the roster, led Morton (5-8, 0-2) with a pair of kills.
“It’s a building process,” Hornilla said. “A normal coach would be screaming his head off, but what am I going to do? It’s the first year of a rebuilding process. My roster is mostly sophomores and freshmen. Unfortunately, the junior and senior classes were extremely slim pickings. This is what I got to do.
“I love the kids. I see potential. I wish we could be just like these other schools that reload every year. We have to take them young and mold them into our system and develop them. Hopefully by their senior year they’re decent, and that’s how we’ve been doing it for years.”