Hinsdale Central takes 2nd at Downers N. Invite
A three-peat at the Downers Grove North Invite surely sounded nice to Hinsdale Central.
The Red Devils will gladly trade it in for bigger hardware the next two weeks.
Marist denied the Red Devils a third straight championship in Downers Grove Saturday, beating Hinsdale Central 25-15, 22-25, 25-20 in a rematch of last year's final. Downers Grove North topped West Chicago 16-25, 25-23, 25-19 to take third.
In the post-match huddle, Hinsdale Central turned its immediate attention to the playoffs that start this week.
“It's our last year for some of us to play together,” Red Devils senior Jamie Netisingha said, “and we're taking it to heart. Hopefully, we'll see Marist at state and play Benet and Lyons and all those teams we lost to. I'd trade everything we've been through this season to get down to state.”
Few teams have endured the roller-coaster ride Hinsdale Central (24-11) has this season. An 8-7 start was followed by a nine-match winning streak. The final week has been no walk in the park, with draining three-game losses to once-beaten Lyons Township and cross-town rival Hinsdale South, followed by big wins over West Chicago and Downers Grove North Saturday before the loss to Marist.
“Weird week, but good ending,” Hinsdale Central coach Sheralynn Kellough said. “After LT and Hinsdale South it would have been very easy for the girls to come in here and just lay down, especially after that first game with Marist. They fought hard and proved that they're still a championship team.”
After a one-sided Game 1 against Marist, the Red Devils rallied from down 15-12 in the second to force a decisive third.
The Red Devils led the rubber game 14-13 after a Netisingha kill, but a shaky stretch of passing led to a quick 4-0 Marist run that Hinsdale couldn't recover from. Marist (33-2) has lost just once this season to an in-state team undefeated and No. 1-ranked Cary-Grove.
“I was really hesitant after that first game,” Netisingha said, “but I was really proud of the way everybody came back. We held it together. We had nothing to lose. We were the underdogs in this situation and played as hard as we can. We did a great job coming back after a rough first game.”
Recently committed Michigan recruit Ally Davis had 16 kills and 3 blocks, Natalia Skiba 7 kills and 8 digs and Netisingha 9 digs for Hinsdale Central. Meghan McDowell added 4 kills and 5 blocks and Ellie Van Keirsbilck 33 assists.
“We just had a little trouble passing,” Kellough said, “and when we got the pass we had trouble executing the offense. We were right there with them. Nothing wrong with how we finished today.”
West Chicago beat Wheaton North in three games and Homewood-Flossmoor in pool play but then dropped its last morning match to Hinsdale Central 25-11, 25-20. The Wildcats had two game points turned away by Marist in Game 1 before dropping their semifinal match 27-25, 25-18, before falling to Downers Grove North.
Kathy Fletcher had five-match totals of 33 kills and 10 blocks, Julia Conard 25 kills and 37 digs, Emily Paschke 29 kills and Payton Bayless 90 assists.
“Right now we let down too much and then it's too hard to dig out of a hole against some of these great teams,” West Chicago coach Kris Hasty said. “Great first game with Marist. If we would have got that going our way it might have been a different outcome today. We have segments of great play, but we just got to eliminate those runs where we make too many mistakes in a row.”
West Chicago (28-7), which started the season 26-0, now must regroup for the playoffs, where it is a No. 1 sectional seed, after losing seven matches in eight days.
“In a way we've got a little bit shaken,” Hasty said, “but right now it's anyone's ballgame. The first season is over and now whoever wants it more on a given night will win the match. In the next three days we have to come in and work on some skills and come in confident and know that we can do it.”
Downers Grove North (18-18) looked like a team peaking at the right time in dominating Chicago Public League champion Whitney Young in pool play 25-18, 25-19, rallying past West Chicago to end the day and going point-for-point with Hinsdale Central in a 25-22, 25-21 semifinal loss.
Jessie Tulacka had 9 kills against West Chicago, Grace Borgard 6 kills, and Taylor Kasal and Alexa Loufman 5 kills apiece.
“We definitely played to our potential,” Trojans coach Mark Wasik said. “We had a couple setbacks this season but we're finally hitting our stride. I was proud with how we bounced back against West Chicago.”