The varsity boys volleyball team continued their tear through the CPS Playoffs on Thursday night, knocking off the defending champion Payton Grizzlies in the quarterfinals to move on to the Final Four.

Although they were missing many key players at the time, the Eagles fell to the Grizzlies in two sets earlier this season, a loss that Jones never forgot and clearly had in mind during their two-set sweep of Payton on Thursday.

“We were full force and had our whole team. Every single player stepped up in the way they needed to,” said Head Coach Jake Myers after the game. “I’m really proud of the way they played.”

The Eagles got off to a bit of a slow start in the first set, trailing for most of it and keeping it close up until the very end. Jones eventually hit their stride and escaped with a close victory 25-22.

The second set was a much different story, however, as the Eagles clearly got in a groove while getting out to an early lead, effectively shutting the door on a potential comeback in the 25-14 clincher.

“We’ve never beat Payton in our team’s history as a varsity program, so it was nice to be the first team to do that,” said Henry Van Zytveld ‘19. “This is just another step on the way [to a city champsionship].”

With the win, the Eagles advance to the CPS Playoffs semifinal and will face either Lane Tech or Whitney Young, two teams they have already defeated this year.

“If we can play like we just played in the second set, we can destroy any team,” said Deimantas Gilys ‘20.

Van Zytveld agreed, adding, “I think after today, we’re ready for anybody.”