Young Lions fall to Latin in semifinals

It was no secret that Lisle's girls volleyball team wasn't exactly long in the tooth.

With almost as many sophomores (four) on the team as seniors (five), few knew what to expect out of the Lions.

Despite exhibiting good energy on every play, Lisle saw its season end at the Class 2A Luther North sectional semifinals when it lost to Chicago Latin 27-25, 25-18.

"We wanted it to go our way so bad that everyone put their heart into it," senior Liz Todd said. "The ball just didn't roll our way."

Emotions were mixed as the finality of the night sunk in.

"We laughed and cried," Todd said. "It's so sad, but at the same time I'm happy that we made it this far. As a volleyball player, I've never made it this far. We were happy to get here."

Lisle (14-20) had to regroup after a tough first game. Trailing 19-13 the Lions fought back to tie the game and then took a 25-24 lead on a block by sophomore Chelsea Peterson. Needing only a point to win, Lisle instead watched as Latin scored the final 3 points to win the game.

Refusing to give up, the Lions started the second game strong and led 9-7. Latin countered with 7 straight points and slowly added to its lead.

Down 21-14 the Lions tried to rally behind Todd, who had 2 straight kills, but were unable to overcome the deficit.

"I told my setters, 'Get the ball to me. I don't care how you do it, just get the ball to me,' " Todd said. "I just tried everything. I put everything into every swing that I took."

Afterward, coach Matt Hrubesky thought his girls' inexperience might have made them a little overeager.

"We had some nerves," he said. "We have a tendency to do that sometimes, get too nervy in big games. We get too up, so we dig a hole and then have to dig out of it. Sometimes when you're playing a team that plays this hard, they don't let you dig out of it."

Lisle got quality performances from seniors Sara Urban, Danielle Fernette and Stephanie Kelly. Junior Annie Antonsen had 15 assists, and sophomore Jordan Biechler added 10 digs and 1 kill.

With 10 girls eligible to return next year, Hrubesky is optimistic about the coming years.

"They're young, ridiculously, this year," Hrubesky said. "The growth that they've made is dramatic. If we get the same kind of dramatic growth next year, it will be good things."