Ace recruiter Connor Lewis leads youth movement as Oak Lawn surges past St. Laurence: ‘He works his tail off.’

Connor Lewis does not lead the Oak Lawn boys volleyball team in kills, blocks or digs.

But the 6-foot junior middle hitter could be the team’s MVP for years to come — even after he graduates.

After going the club volleyball route in 2021, Lewis coaxed six other players in the program to join up. That could bode well for this spring and beyond for the Spartans.

“Last year, a lot of our freshmen didn’t really know what club was,” Lewis said. “I was trying to get them into club because it can really benefit your vertical, your footwork, everything.

“Now, we’re one of the teams that people really have to look out for.”

With a freshman and three sophomores in the starting rotation, host Oak Lawn had the look of a winner Thursday night, pulling out a 26-24, 29-27 nonconference victory over St. Laurence.

Simon Komperda led the Spartans (2-1) with eight kills and six digs. Giovanni Gonzalez had five kills and eight digs, while Lewis added four kills and Kalvin Vega totaled seven digs.

Dylan McKeon paced St. Laurence (1-1) with six kills and Alex Antkiewicz added four.

Oak Lawn coach Matthew Hunt remembers a time when he had no club players. He said Lewis’ ability to recruit has been huge. Both Komperda and Gonzalez are sophomores.

“The players having all of that experience from club just brings it back here,” Hunt said. “Not only do they get game experience, they also know players from other clubs.

“There are a ton of kids from the area who play. It’s good to see our guys coming into the huddle and saying, ‘He’s on my team and he has a hard time passing.’ It’s good to know the tendencies of other players.”

St. Laurence led through most of the first game, but after the Spartans slipped ahead 20-19, the teams jockeyed back and forth until Komperda put down a kill for the final point.

The second game was a roller coaster with 10 ties and eight lead changes before Komperda again ended it with a kill.

Komperda is not one of those club volleyball players because he plays travel soccer, but he was still a force on offense and defense against the Vikings.

“I gave volleyball a chance last year and our coaches wanted me to join a club, but unfortunately I can’t because of soccer,” he said. “It’s fun playing on the high school team. It’s a great team and it’s a good atmosphere.”

St. Laurence lacks experience but is getting good lessons playing tight games.

The Vikings beat Reavis 24-26, 27-25, 26-24 in Tuesday’s Battle of Burbank. They have not won or lost a game so far by more than two points.

“We’ve been battling right from the beginning,” first-year St. Laurence coach Laura Bugarin said. “We just have to figure out how to win at the end.”

Speaking of figuring things out, Lewis has a battle on his hands as an undersized middle hitter. He also plays middle for the Ultimate’s 16 Gold team.

“Yeah, it is difficult,” he said. “You just have to work harder than everybody else. You have to get your vertical up, watch the ball and be there every time.

“You just have to look at the situation and overcome it.”

Hunt is fine, however, with keeping Lewis in the middle.

“He survives because he’s an all-around player,” Hunt said of Lewis. “He can serve the ball. He works his tail off.

“He probably doesn’t get set at much because of his size but can make reads on blocks and he makes them pretty quick.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.