Lincoln-Way East’s Jon Guch likes to hit.

The 6-foot-3 junior enjoys contact, whether it’s playing as a cornerback in football or as a right-side hitter in volleyball. He said hitting is his favorite aspect of football.

In volleyball?

“Hitting the ball and getting kills,” Guch said, “is exciting.”

With the coronavirus pandemic messing up the Illinois High School Association’s sports calendar, Guch had the chance to do some hitting during a shortened spring football season.

The left-hander didn’t have time to catch his breath before starting to pound the volleyball three weeks into the Griffins’ season.

Heading into his junior year, Guch believed the Griffins had a good chance of defending their Class 8A state title in football while the boys volleyball team had the ingredients to be in the conversation for one too.

The IHSA canceled the playoffs for football, although they granted an 11th-hour decision to allow a postseason beyond regionals in boys volleyball.

Even though Lincoln-Way East did not win the state title Saturday, the Griffins brought home the fifth trophy in program history and 35th in school history with a fourth-place finish at Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn.

It was the program’s third trophy in four seasons. The Griffins took second in 2017 and first in 2018. The 2020 season was canceled by the IHSA due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since he has another year left and the football and volleyball teams should be strong again, Guch hopes to help the Griffins hoist a state championship trophy.

After winning in Friday’s quarterfinals, Lincoln-Way East lost twice Saturday, falling 25-17, 25-14 in the semifinals to eventual state champion Glenbrook North and 25-14, 25-15 to Glenbard West in the third-place match.

But getting to the Final Four was a wild trip the Griffins (20-7) will not soon forget. The loss to Glenbrook North snapped a 16-match winning streak.

Still, the Griffins were dynamite in the sectional, beating Sandburg 25-15, 20-25, 25-23 in a semifinal thriller before knocking off host Marist, the defending state champion, with a 26-24, 26-24 decision in the final.

That set up Friday’s quarterfinal showdown with SouthWest Suburban Blue rival Lockport. The Griffins pulled out a 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 win to reach Saturday’s trophy round.

“Those were crazy matches,” said Guch, who had nine kills in the victory over Lockport. “We’re mentally tough. Even the games we played during the regular season the game were close.

“We always came out on top. We never put our heads down if we messed up. We were always ready to keep pushing and getting the points to win.”

Guch, who is open to looking at colleges in both sports, recently attended the University of Indianapolis Mega Camp in mid-June for football. He will play with the Joliet-based Uno club later this month in the USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Kansas City.

Guch missing three weeks of the season was one of series of roster roulette problems Griffins coach Kris Fiore faced. Sophomore Tyler Walenga, who was going to be counted on for offensive firepower, was injured until the playoffs.

Junior Jared Byas, an all-conference selection in the SouthWest Suburban Blue, was injured before the playoffs but returned for limited action in the final three matches.

Setter Owen Morrow was sidelined for a few weeks early in the season, and a few other players were missing at various times.

“It was a revolving door all season,” Fiore said. “We were constantly shuffling the lineup. One kid gets back and another gets injured. But we got here to the Final Four because our players have a lot of mental toughness.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.