BARRINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA — Barrington High’s boys volleyball team answered its recent setback with a two-set road sweep of Fremd, 25-22, 25-17, punctuated by sophomore Matt Kravstov’s late points to close the opener and flip the night’s momentum Thursday. The win stabilized Barrington’s week after a tough loss to Schaumburg and kept the Broncos planted in the Mid-Suburban West race, the kind of result that ripples through Barrington families who track spring sports nightly and measure progress in conference matches.
The defining stretch came at the end of a tight first set, when Barrington’s serve pressure and right-side finishing finally separated the teams after a 22-22 knot. Kravstov led the way with 14 kills, powering Barrington’s attack when points were at a premium and forcing Fremd out of system in the second set as the Broncos opened space to 25-17. Coach Charlie Spry framed the performance around the program’s internal standard for steadiness under stress. "He’s probably going to come over to me and say he didn’t play that well tonight," said Charlie Spry, head coach.
Barrington’s response carried extra weight because last season’s postseason showed how thin the margin gets when passing or serving dips even briefly. Barrington’s 2025 run ended in a straight-sets sectional semifinal loss to Libertyville at Barrington, and the match turned on Libertyville’s blocking and floor defense disrupting Barrington’s offense while early serve-receive and serving issues snowballed, according to Daily Herald. That backdrop made Thursday’s cleaner closing stretch against Fremd more than a simple bounce-back. It was evidence of a group trying to bank sharp reps now, before postseason points magnify.
The resilience theme is familiar around the program. In last year’s regional final, Barrington beat Stevenson 25-22, 25-16 at Vernon Hills High School after watching a big first-set lead shrink, then resetting to finish in straight sets, according to Daily Herald. The emphasis on living with imperfections while still playing connected volleyball has remained part of the message passed down to younger contributors like Kravstov. "It’s hard to seek perfection in volleyball because you’re bound to make mistakes," said Matt Louis, senior.
Barrington’s ability to produce a stat-line night from a sophomore also fits a bigger moment for the sport statewide, where roster depth is improving as participation explodes. North Carolina had 135 high schools fielding boys volleyball teams by spring 2025, up from seven in 2022, and organizers have been pushing a more formal statewide structure as a path toward sanctioning, according to HighSchoolOT. Even outside Barrington, that growth is reshaping what conference races look like and raising the bar for postseason readiness. Elsewhere, long rebuilds have also shown how continuity can turn programs into contenders, including a separate Barrington in Rhode Island that went from a one-win season in 2021 to a Division II state title in 2024, finishing 15-3 and beating top-seeded Cranston West in four sets after dropping the first, according to the Providence Journal.
Barrington will try to turn Thursday’s sweep into a string, with the next match set for Tuesday, April 28, against Schaumburg at Barrington High School. The rematch arrives quickly, and the standings stakes are straightforward. Another conference win keeps Barrington in the Mid-Suburban West chase, while a stumble risks giving away ground in a race tightening by the week.
