Oak Park and River Forest High School boys volleyball senior starters Matthew Proskey and Henry Ohlhoff live two houses apart and basically have known each other their entire lives. Their volleyball bond also goes a long way.
“I’ve never really played with setter other than Matthew. I’ve been on a team with him every single year, club or high school, five years in a row,” said Ohlhoff, who will attend Wisconsin. “We’ve got to go different paths eventually, but there’s no one I’d rather spend my career with. He’s a great setter and great person.”
They were just part of the Huskies’ large, talented senior class that nearly made history Saturday. Seeking the program’s first state championship.
OPRF was edged 25-19, 22-25, 25-20 by longtime rival Glenbard West at Bolingbrook in their fourth meeting this season.
The second-place state finish for the Huskies (33-6) is their fourth, but first since 1998. OPRF has finished third three times, including 2023, and fourth once.
Nine of the 10 Huskies who played in the championship were seniors besides standout outside hitter Trayce Chrusfield.
“It’s been one hell of a run. I’m glad I did it with my entire team because everyone contributed. I’m very proud of everyone and glad that we got at least two (second) out of four,” said Proskey, who will play at McKendree University.
“I feel like (Glenbard West) just played a little better than we did. A few more digs for sure, that definitely got their momentum a lot higher. (But) everyone gave their all.”
Chrusfield had a match-high 18 kills, three service aces and eight digs. Other stat leaders were Proskey (39 assists, 4 kills), Wesley Kochendorfer (11 kills, 2 block assists), libero Gus Leman (9 digs, 6 assists), Henry Hullinger (7 kills), Ohlhoff (6 kills) and Rohan Champaneri and Alex Lima (6 digs each). Starter William Enlow and Javi Grillo also played.
Glenbard West (39-2) won its sixth state championship and sixth straight trophy with two more titles.
“This was an extremely special team. Even from day one, this was their ultimate goal to get here. Unfortunately, we just fell short to a more experienced (state finals) team,” OPRF coach Justin Cousin said.
“We fought hard, worked hard and refused to quit. That’s all a coach could ask. They won’t know how good they were until a few years from now. Then they realize how lucky you are to get to play in the state championship.”
OPRF led the third set 14-12 but the Hilltoppers scored the next four points and never trailed again.
Leman’s ace and a plane violation tied the set at 17-17. A service error and four kills put Glenbard West ahead 22-18. The Huskies closed to 22-20 on kills by Kochendorfer and Proskey but the Hilltoppers answered with two kills and captured match point on a double hit.
OPRF led 47-42 in kills but had a lower attack percentage (.261) with 17 errors versus eight by Glenbard West (.337). Glenbard West led 8-3 in blocks for points and 41-40 in digs. OPRF led 4-2 in aces but with nine errors.
“Pretty much everyone has been around volleyball on this team. It’s just that experience that was so beneficial to us and let us do great things,” said Kochendorfer, who will room with Champaneri at Illinois.
“That was definitely a high-level (title) match. I think they really played amazing defense. They were really good at stopping us and slowing us down. They were good at controlling the pace. I thought we played a great game (too).”
Team captains were Kochendorfer and Leman and Proskey, who were 2023 state reserves. The Huskies lost in sectionals the past two seasons.
“This season’s been all I could ever ask for as a Huskie,” said Leman, who will attend Hope. “It sucked losing the past two years in the sectional final but that just kind of lit a fire in us. I’m so proud of the team, getting back here.”
The Huskies won the teams’ first meeting April 14 in winning the West Suburban Conference Silver Division but lost the next two at tournaments May 2 and 9 without Chrusfield, a member of the USA Volleyball Under-19 national team.
“It’s been beautiful. It’s been great playing with (our seniors) in general. Even in practice, it’s always competitive,” Chrusfield said.
In the semifinals, both teams needed three sets after losing the first set. OPRF rallied 16-25, 25-17, 25-12 over third-place Marist (31-8), the other team that beat Glenbard West.
“I think what was special (this season) was the bond I made with my teammates. We practice a lot but I might have spent more time hanging out with them outside of volleyball,” Champaneri said.