EUREKA – Lafayette senior Kyle Kubasta didn’t flinch.
With his Lancers quickly down 5-1 in the fifth set against rival Eureka on Thursday night in a battle of two of the best boys volleyball teams in the state, Kubasta took control.
The setter and opposite hitter had five assists and three kills in the final frame to lead a Lafayette comeback in a 25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-12 win.
“We had to want it more than they did and I think we came out and we did that,” Kubasta said. “We were digging balls, we had an energy.”
Kubasta started the comeback with a pair of sets to Lucas Tran. A pair of big swings from Kubasta broke a 9-all tie and Kubasta ended the 2-hour match by setting Tran for the winner.
“He's kind of the backbone of our team,” Lafayette coach Whitney Ralph said of Kubasta. “We kind of go how he goes. He is very knowledgeable about the game of volleyball and is probably one of the best on our team at seeing the floor.”
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Kubasta finished with 14 kills and 22 assists, while Tran put down 25 kills for Lafayette (9-0). Ethan Tran had 10 kills and 29 assists, and Alexander Griffon had seven kills and six blocks.
Sutton Reed had 16 kills and six aces for Eureka (5-2). Nate Sowder and Donovan Feder each had 10 kills, Jack McMillen had nine kills and Jett Wilken had 43 assists.
Reed had Eureka off to the quick start in the fifth with three straight aces, before the Lancers rallied.
“We knew we needed to respond against a great team and a big match setting,” Eureka coach Bryan Pieschel said. “And we did that, we played exceptionally well. We played extremely hard. Most importantly, we played with confidence. The kids finally realized that, hey, we belong here, like we're one of the best teams too. We can play with these guys. We can beat these guys. And that's a lot of fun to see.”
Lancers claim opener
Lafayette got kills from Kubasta and Mason Brown and Evan Halter added an ace to break an 18-all tie in the first set.
Lucas Trans’ sixth spike of the frame gave Lafayette a 1-0 lead.
“I felt like Eureka did an awesome job of forcing us into bad situations on our side,” Ralph said. “So, it was just really trying to get our focus and our control back over what we could do on our side of the court and build from there.”
Wildcats come up aces
Two straight aces by Reed ignited a 5-0 Eureka run late in the second set, turning a deficit into a 21-18 lead.
Wilken followed with a slick no-look tip and a serving error clinched the set for Eureka, evening the match at a set apiece.
“We really just had to be excited to be out there,” Lucas Tran said. “The first couple of sets, we were kind of dead. And then once we got excited and got going, you know, we really picked it up and pulled it through.”
Eureka rolls
Josh Nekula opened the third set with an ace and McMillen and Reed followed with kills to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
Feder and Reed put down key spikes down the stretch and a Charlie Bewen kill gave Eureka a 2-1 lead.
“It all comes down to first contact for us,” Pieschel said. “So, we have to serve, pass and defend exceptionally well, and I thought we did that.”
Lafayette draws even
The Lancers took control of the fourth set with a late 5-1 run to send the match to a fifth set.
Lucas Tran led the Lafayette attack with six kills and Kubasta put down four more to go with five assists. Ethan Tran had a pair of spikes and six assists.
“We saw some mismatches height-wise and I saw the hot hand and went with it,” Ethan Tran said.
Ralph hits coaching milestone
The win was No. 100 for Ralph. The Lancers players surprised their coach with balloons and flowers after the match.
“I don't think she knew about it,” Kubasta said of the celebration. “I'm glad we pulled it out, because that probably would have been not great if we didn't get that one.”
Up next
Lafayette: travels to Francis Howell Central on Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Spartans edged the Lancers in five sets last season.
Eureka: hosts Kirkwood on Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats have won their last three games against the Pioneers.
