Oaks Christian maintains dominance over Oak Park in boys' volleyball

PATRICK SHELBY/Acorn Newspapers PLAYOFF INTENSITY-Oak Park's Jason Fahn is pumped up during Tuesday's match against crosstown rival Oaks Christian. Tuesday night's boys' volleyball game between Oak Park and Oaks Christian didn't live up to the pre-game hype-it blew away expectations.

In a crosstown showdown between the top-ranked Lions and No. 2-rated Eagles, Oaks Christian pulled out a five game marathon (26-24, 19-25, 23-25, 30-28, 158) at home to maintain its Frontier League dominance over Oak Park.

Oaks Christian (10-2, 5-0) has never lost a league game to Oak Park (15-7, 3-2), but they came very close to losing those bragging rights against the gritty Eagle squad.

"It feels pretty darn good, I have to say," OCHS sophomore Dominic Denham said. "I didn't think we were going to win at first, but we really stepped up in the end, and that's what counts."

The first game started out in dramatic fashion as both squads battled back and forth like a pair of Siamese fighting fish trying to establish superiority in a 10 gallon tank of water.

There were 15 ties and eight lead changes in the inaugural game, eventually won by Oaks Christian, 26-24, after Oak Park senior Jason Fahn was called for a lift on an OCHS game point.

Fahn, a first-team Tri-Valley League selection in basketball, had 20 kills and functioned as Oak Park's emotional leader throughout the evening.

Led by the strong serve of senior Justin Burridge, the Eagles never trailed in the second game en route to a 25-19 win. After falling behind 8-3 early in the game, Oaks Christian whittled Oak Park's lead down to 12-11. But the Lions were unable to get any closer, and Fahn delivered the deciding kill.

Game three was nip and tuck throughout. Oak Park got the winning point on a kill by Burridge, who finished the match with 17 total kills.

"They were serving tough all night, and they had our guys on their heels passing," Oaks Christian head coach George Hees said. "We couldn't pass the ball to the net and our guys couldn't get good swings at it."

All of the sudden momentum was on Oak Park's side, but the defending CIF-SS Division IV champion Lions refused to go quietly.

With seniors Alex Walker and Brendan Skinner leading the way, Oaks Christian battled back from a 21-18 deficit late in the fourth game to stave off defeat.

After wrestling away the lead from OPHS, the Lions had four game-point opportunities and failed to capitalize. Every time they were down, Oak Park found a way to extend the game. The Eagles had a match-point chance at 27-26, but they too failed to cash in their chips.

OCHS eventually won the fourth game, 30-28, and carried its positive momentum into the fifth game. On its way to victory, Oaks Christian built an 8-3 advantage, held off a late Eagle rally, and won the final game, 15-8.

Oak Park's Andrew Quinn finished the night with 52 assists. Quinn's teammate, Sean Pedeflous, added 17 digs.

For the Lions, Walker contributed 25 kills, two blocks and three assists. Skinner added 16 kills and two blocks, and junior Ryan Schiedermayer logged 60 assists and eight digs.

Hees said he expects another tough battle when the teams meet again later in the season.

"This is always our biggest match in league and a lot of what we do is training to beat (Oak Park)," Hees said. "We'll be ready for them next time at the end of the season."

The two rivals will meet in the regular-season finale at 6 p.m. Thurs., May 4 in Oak Park.