As a sophomore last season, Marist outside hitter Nathen Toth had plenty of power.

This spring, Toth wants to complement that power with a few attacks designed to keep opposing defenses off guard.

“I’ve been focusing on becoming a creative player as far as tips and rolls and scoring in other ways,” he said. “There are a lot of cool things you see on Instagram and TikTok and say, ‘Oh, I want to try that.’

“So, I try it in practice, and if it works, I keep practicing it.”

Those rolls and tips were working Tuesday night as the RedHawks opened the season with a solid 21-25, 25-20, 25-18 nonconference victory over host Sandburg in Orland Park.

Toth tallied six kills, three blocks and 10 digs for Marist (1-0). Ohio State recruit Christian Teresi contributed six kills, three blocks, 25 assists and 12 digs. Rorey Donnelly made 16 digs, while Luke Brannigan added seven kills and Jack Meader had five kills and three blocks.

Jeremiah Aro led Sandburg (0-2) with 11 kills, including five in the first game. Zach Supanich had seven kills, Myles Aquino added 13 digs and Dominik Szklarz recorded 10 assists.

Toth, meanwhile, has been just as dedicated to practicing his creativity as he has his power.

“It’s a lot of reps over and over,” he said. “Making sure I can do the same thing 10 times in a row.”

If he does something like eight or nine in a row and misses, it’s back to square one.

“I punish myself a little, but nothing too crazy,” Toth said. “It’s an incentive to succeed. But I have to get to 10.”

Marist coach Jordan Vidovic said he likes to see Toth expanding his game and constantly reaching for that perfect 10.

“He’s definitely a kid who holds himself to a high standard in everything he does,” Vidovic said. “School, practice, volleyball, all of that stuff.

“He’s very adamant to grow as a player and grow mentally and grow physically.”

Even though Toth has been trying different hitting attacks, he used some muscle to nail down the match-ending kill in the 80-minute battle against Sandburg.

“Everyone loves the power,” Toth said.

For Sandburg, playing two powerful opponents right off the bat doesn’t help the overall record but could pay off in the long run.

The Eagles opened their season Monday with a 25-20, 26-24 loss to Brother Rice, which reached the state quarterfinals in 2023.

“I like our upside and potential,” Sandburg coach David Vales said. “It’s a matter of getting used to playing with each other.

“We are putting the pieces together, and a week and a half after tryouts is not really enough time to face the likes of Brother Rice or Marist. But we do that on purpose to get a gauge to know where we need to get to.”

On the flip side, the RedHawks entered the season ranked sixth in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association/USA Today rankings.

Marist, which has been continually ranked nationally in recent seasons, knows about having a target on its collective back.

“I look at it as more of a product of a lot of hard work put in by a lot of groups of guys,” Vidovic said. “They built up a name to where we get that recognition.”

The target will continue to be on the RedHawks’ back Friday and Saturday when they host their own 24-team invitational.

“We don’t really talk about that stuff,” Toth said of the national ranking. “We don’t mention rankings at all in our locker room. Other people talk about that.

“We just focus on ourselves and prepare ourselves to win.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.