Whenever Oak Park and River Forest High School boys’ volleyball senior Matthew Proskey goes back to serve, it’s something to behold. His serves are rockets, making it difficult for opponents to set up their attack.
“It comes from my parents. They taught me everything,” said Proskey, whose older brother is former OPRF baseball pitcher Calvin, currently playing collegiately at the University of California – Santa Barbara.
Proskey, a setter who has signed with McKendree College, is one of the key factors in OPRF’s successful defense of the West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship this year. The Huskies (27-5-1) officially wrapped up the title May 19 with a 25-7, 25-11 victory at Proviso West, then capped off the regular season on May 21 with a Senior Night 25-16, 25-22 victory over visiting Loyola Academy.
“Loyola’s a really good team; we knew that coming in,” said Proskey, who had 16 assists, five digs, and an ace. “Two years ago, we lost in three here, so we had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder and knew we had to get it done.”
Like Proskey, senior middle hitter Wesley Kochendorfer (four kills, four blocks, three digs) is appreciative of OPRF’s back-to-back conference championships.
“We worked hard for it all season,” Kochendorfer said. “We’re going to continue grinding and putting our heads down, and as long as we follow that, it’s going to pay off.”
OPRF played exclusively seniors against Loyola and many made significant contributions in the victory. Outside hitter Henry Hullinger had a team-high nine kills, outside hitter David Diakite six kills, two aces, and four digs, middle hitter Will Enlow three kills and two blocks, and libero Rohan Champenari two aces.
“I make sure we always play Loyola every season because we know we’re going to get a tough team who wants to compete against us,” said OPRF coach Justin Cousin. “It’s a good chance for all the seniors to get a chance to play, and it prepares us for the playoffs.”
The victory was a stirring end to what was an outstanding regular season for OPRF’s program. Cousin said the freshmen, sophomore, and junior-varsity levels also won WSC Silver titles, and he also believes it’s the first time that the Huskies have gone undefeated in conference on all levels in the same season.
“It’s a big thing for us,” he said.
OPRF junior outside hitter Jimmie “Trayce” Chrusfield III, one of the state’s top prospects in the Class of 2027, returned last week from participating for the United States’ U19 team. The team took part in the NORCACA tournament in Canada, where it lost to the host country in the final. Chrusfield sat out against Loyola, but Cousin said he’ll return to the lineup this week as the Huskies turn their attention to the state tournament.
OPRF, number one in the illprepvb.com and MaxPreps polls, is the top seed at the Argo Sectional. The Huskies began the playoffs with a regional semifinal at Hinsdale Central, May 26, after deadline. Assuming a victory, OPRF would face Reavis or Solorio Academy in the final, May 28. The regional winner meets the winner of the St. Laurence Regional in a sectional semifinal at Argo, May 30.
While confident, the Huskies aren’t taking anything for granted and will utilize a common-sense approach to the postseason.
“We’re trying to stay humble; we know we haven’t had the best history in the playoffs,” Proskey said. “We’re just trying to play our best one game at a time.”
“Our key to success is really just getting one percent better each day,” Kochendorfer said. “We already have the talent to win it, so as long as we keep staying at the level we are and get better, we should have a good run.”
Fenwick
The season came to an end for the Friars (6-15) with a 17-25, 19-25 defeat at Morton in a regional quarterfinal, May 23.
However, with only two seniors – Johnny Cox and Jack Ortiz – lost to graduation, Fenwick could be in for a bounce-back season next year. Sophomore Esteban Jiminez just wrapped up his second varsity season and figures to lead a team that can bring back 11 players.