Affton clicks on all cylinders, continues to roll with sweep of Bayless

By Joe Harris | Special to STLhighschoolsports.com

The Affton boys volleyball team had to learn how to walk before it ran offensively this season.

“I talked about being a very basic offense at the beginning of the year, and we kind of put some stuff in during practice,” Affton coach Brian Boehm said. “And they always felt comfortable doing it at practice, because it didn't matter at that point. Then they started doing it in games and it started becoming a lot more effective.”

The Cougars are definitely running on all cylinders offensively as the postseason looms.

Affton swept host Bayless 25-15, 25-15, 25-19 on Friday to win its ninth match out of its last 10.

“We've been trying to mix up our plays a lot more and just being creative,” Affton senior Jack Miles said.

Affton’s offense begins with Miles and fellow senior Conrad Salt, the team’s setters who quarterback a 6-2 offense. Miles, who plays middle hitter for his club team, also swings from the opposite hitter position where he forms a potent one-two punch with freshman outside hitter Owen Carr.

Miles led the way with 11 kills and nine assists against Bayless, while Carr put down eight kills. Salt had 15 assists and a pair of aces for Affton (15-5).

Carr said a strong team chemistry has fueled the success.

“We go out to dinner sometimes after the games and it's always just a fun time whenever we're playing, even if we're losing,” Carr said. “We try to have as much fun as we can and it's really helping our team play better whenever we have fun.”

Affton pulled away late in the third set against a plucky Bayless squad. Ben Meyers put down a kill and an ace and two straight kills from Miles ended the one-hour match.

“We have we have a couple of weapons this year, which is good,” Boehm said. “We're not just relying on one or two people.”

Nysier Brooks paced Bayless (10-12-2) with three kills and a block.

“Our team always works hard,” Bayless coach Kevin Le said. “It's really controlling our side that we have an issue with. You know, I thought Affton always plays well and if we can just take care of our side then we compete with them.”

Cougars cruise early

Kills by Miles and Carr ignited a 6-1 run midway through the first set for Affton. Several hitting errors by the Bronchos helped the Cougars pull out to a 19-14 lead in the opener.

Miles had three kills and Meyers and Carr each out down a pair of spikes to give Affton a 1-0 lead.

Boehm said the Bronchos made Affton earn it.

“Kevin's a really good coach,” Boehm said. “He always has his kids prepared, and every time we had a hard driven ball, their kids were in the right spots to make a defensive play.”

Block party

The Cougars jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set on a kill and a block from Miles and a big swing from Dino Novalic. Tristin Dusold and Novalic followed with solo blocks to help give Affton a commanding lead.

Carr blasted five kills and Salt had seven assists in the frame as Affton took a 2-0 lead.

“I just feel like I started getting in my rhythm” Carr said. “I felt looser and it's getting the sets I wanted, the pass that I wanted, so it was just working a lot better.”