The 2010 season was pretty much a dream year for Maine South’s Eric Butch. The 6-foot 3-inch senior outside hitter was the No. 1 option for a Hawks team that went 39-0 in the regular season and went on to take third place in state.

Butch, who will play college volleyball at Lewis University next spring, finished the season with a team high in kills (386) and aces (52) and was an easy choice to be the 2010 Bugle/Enterprise Boys Volleyball Player of the Year.

“Eric has been our captain, our leader, our go-to-guy,” Maine South coach Gary Granell said. “For the most part he really delivers. In the playoffs he’s been outstanding.”

Never one to talk about himself, all Butch wanted to talk about was the success of the Hawks in 2010.

“As a team this was huge, especially for the program,” Butch said. “41-1 is tremendous. There’s only three other teams in the history of the state that did that. That says a lot about this group.

“We’ve been playing with each other since freshman year. I couldn’t be more happy with the success that this team has had through the entire four years at Maine South.”

The numbers that Butch was able to put up, despite having plenty of good players on the team, showed just how good he was.

“I’ve been working with volleyball pretty hard ever since sophomore year,” he said.

“I just wanted to be the best I can for this team. I wanted to be the go-to-guy, the guy who can put the ball away in tight situations. I wanted to lead the team when it mattered and I think I did a pretty good job of that but I couldn’t do that without the guys around me. They were a big part of my success.”

Butch also came out and played his best when the team needed it. In a state semifinal loss to Marist, Butch had a season-high 21 kills.

“I was just swinging away,” he said. “You have to swing to get kills and if you don’t swing you wont get kills. You have to stay aggressive and be smart.” Lewis University is a Division I volleyball program that has been ranked in the top 15 in the nation.

Greg Blaszczuk

The senior outside hitter set Maine East’s school record this season with 273 kills. He also led the team with 28 aces, was second on the team with 39 point blocks and finished with 100 digs.

Blaszczuk was named All-Conference in the Central Suburban League North and was named All-Tournament in the Libertyville and Lincoln-Way East Tournaments this season.

Matt Butch A middle hitter for Maine South, the senior finished the season with 229 kills and 113 blocks.

“Matt is so consistent,” Granell said. “One thing you can count on Matt for is high kills, low amount of errors. He’s our best blocker. Not only offensively, but defensively, he’s our strongest player at the net.

“You know what you’re going to get. He doesn’t hurt you and is really consistent. He doesn’t have a bad match.”

Matt Butch will be attending DePaul University in the fall. The Blue Demons don’t have an NCAA volleyball team but they do have a club team and Matt Butch may walk on.

Josh DeJong

The senior setter established a Plainfield North record with 559 assists and added 22 aces.

“Josh was an exceptional setter,” Plainfield North coach Kevin Vesper said. “He had the ability to get to nearly any ball and make a good set. He was one of the strongest leaders I have ever coached and he will be greatly missed.”

Brett Gunderson

The senior hitter made his mark at Plainfield North setting a school record with 340 kills. He also added 75 blocks and 48 aces.

“Brett was our go-to hitter and he always delivered,” Vesper said. “He is also an outstanding back row player who was one of our top passers in serve receive. He has tremendous talent and will go far in the future.”

Mike Hejza A senior captain and setter, the 6-foot-2-inch Hejza's job was to distribute the ball for a very talented Maine South team. He finished with 1,037 assists and he was also the team’s second leading blocker with 86 blocks.

“He’s a good blocker and with 27 assists in two games (in a sectional final win over Glenbrook North), he’s obviously getting the ball to the hitters,” Granell said. “We’re nothing without him. He’s our quarterback out there.”

Ryne Jacobson, Minooka The 6-foot senior right-side hitter had to step up for Minooka when opposing teams focused on the team kill leader, Matt Phillips, and Jacobson did a wonderful job.

“Last year he was a setter for us but he was a very good hitter,” Indians’ coach Janel Grzetich said. “He’s a very key part of our offense and defense too.”

Jacobson moved up to varsity during his sophomore season and never looked back. “He has the experience and he has the ability to go where we need him,” Grzetich said. “He’s an outstanding hitter and has really good hands. He moves the ball well and has a very strong serve.”

Greg Petty At 6-feet 5-inches, the junior was an intimidating force for Downers Grove North. Next year’s Trojans’ squad will be built around the dominating player.

“I have not seen a more dominant hitter consistently in the state this year and he is only a junior, which is scary,” said Downers Grove North coach Mark Wasik.

Matt Phillips Standing at 6-feet 4-inches, the senior outside hitter was a huge reason that Minooka took fourth place in state. Phillips finished the season with more than half the team’s kills and had 40 kills in three state finals matches.

“We brought him up to varsity freshman year so I’ve had the opportunity to coach him for four years and he’s one of those kids that always impresses me,” Grzetich said. “He’s just that kind of elite all-around player.

“I haven’t seen a player like him. We try to get the ball to him as much as possible because when you have a player like that, you want to use him.”

Phillips will play college volleyball at Loyola University.

Keegan Robbins The 6-foot, 6-inch setter from Joliet Catholic Academy posted more than 500 assists on the season. He was third leading attacker with 150 kills and led the team in blocks with 40.

“He really kept us in matches, blocking-wise and attacking,” said JCA coach Rhyen Staley. “Just being able to set passes that were over the net, where smaller setters could not get. His drive to win really kept us in a lot of matches.”

He will play college volleyball at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

Bryan Saunders The senior middle hitter was a standout for Joliet Township.

“He was a special guy,” said Steelmen coach Jason Herrmann. “He played club volleyball for me last year and really stepped his game up this year. Bryan was a basketball guy, his dad was part of the championship basketball team at Lockport years back, but basketball was not Bryan’s number one strength.

“We have a lot of athletes that don’t make the basketball team that go play AAU and don’t stay involved with high school athletics. Now there is a sport where these guys can excel and get a scholarship.”

Saunders did earn that scholarship and will play next season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Buddy Steinhaus A three-year varsity player for Downers Grove South, Steinhaus was a two-time all-West Suburban Gold Conference selection. He was among a group of seniors that led the Mustangs to a regional championship this season.

“We brought them up as sophomores and knew they could be pretty good and it is a little rough to say good bye,” South coach Tony Nevrly said. “The seniors did a lot not only for our team this year but for our volleyball program.”

Steinhaus posted 255 kills this season and had 652 for his career. He finished his career with 98 career aces.

Nick Tate The four-year varsity member was the leader of the Bolingbrook program. Tate moved from outside hitter to setter mid-season and led the Raiders to their first-ever postseason win.

Tate averaged 9.3 kills, 11.2 assists and 1.7 blocks per game.

“Nick has changed the perception of boys volleyball at Bolingbrook High School,” coach Andrea Bercot said. “He has brought a new edge, competitiveness and standard to the program. He is a great leader and fierce competitor. I am honored to have had the opportunity to coach him.”

John Walgamuth The Downers Grove North libero was the lone senior on a young team that got better every match this season. He will attend Ohio State University in the fall and attempt to walk onto the volleyball team.

“In serve receives he's a stud,” Wasik said. “His voice and leadership on the floor for us means a lot.”

Sam Yi Also a member of the Romeoville basketball team, the senior had a serving percentage of 90 percent with 22 aces. He had 121 kills, with 85 percent good digs and 93 percent of serve receives.

“Sam Yi is a key component to our team,” Romeoville coach Deb Fehrenbacher said. “He is one of our best passers and hitters. He is one of the guys on the team that the setters know they can go to. Sam is a competitor and has a willingness to do what it takes to help the team, be it play outside or set if needed. He will be greatly missed next year.”

Scott Taylor and Mark Gregory contributed to this story.

Editor’s Note: The schools in the Bugle/Enterprise coverage area include: Bolingbrook, Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet Township, Lockport, Maine East, Maine South, Minooka, Niles West, Notre Dame, Plainfield Central, Plainfield East, Plainfield North, Plainfield South and Romeoville.

Coming next week: The 2010 Bugle/Enterprise Softball All-Area Team.