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Boys Volleyball: Gajos going to be a good one for Trevians
Warrenville, IL 3/30/12 New Trier and Brother Rice's Boy Volleyball teams met up at Wheaton Warrenville South to participate in a tournament, Friday. New Trier's Mike Gajos (10) hits the ball over the net. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
Updated: July 3, 2012 12:00PM
Mike Gajos starred in his first full season on varsity, and the New Trier junior will be part of talented group of players coming back to the team.
It’s just that Gajos wishes he still were playing this year. The Trevians’ season ended last week with a 26-24, 25-23 loss to Loyola in the regional final at Wheeling.
A 6-foot-6 right-side hitter, Gajos joined the starting lineup from the outset.
“He always had his moments, but he became a consistent bright spot toward the end of the season,” New Trier coach Sue Ellen Haak said.
Gajos said the chance to practice with the varsity and be with the team during its playoff last season was instrumental to his development. The Trevians played at the state tournament for the first time since taking second in 2007.
“Best of both worlds,” he said.
Gajos started playing volleyball as a seventh-grader and decided to go with the sport when he reached high school. He bounced around clubs in the offseason, first at Energy, then D1 and now Adversity.
“I had to work hard in the offseason in order to have a starting position for such a successful team,” he said. “And I definitely got better throughout this season. I saw a ton of improvement in myself. Always being on the court allowed me to get much better.”
Gajos, setter Matt Wascher and outside hitter Carlos Zambrano give the Trevians three standouts to build around next spring.
“Very much looking forward to having those three back to the team,” Haak said.
Gajos, Wascher and Zambrano all play at Adversity and expect to participate in a full summer of tournaments. Gajos said the club already has qualified for nationals in July.
Gajos said one part of his game he hopes to improve is blocking. Defense is another.
“I want to be more efficient with the block,” he said. “Especially when it comes to one on one. I want to be able to set up in the right position. It’s more important to read the block than it is to jump as high as you can.”
This is a big summer for him to impress college coaches and Gajos is undecided about his future after high school.
“I have been reaching out to some coaches to get my name out, but I don’t know yet,” he said.
