Girls volleyball: Lyons Twp. surprises Glenbard West
Glenbard West setter Kaitlyn DuMerer started Thursday's Class 4A girls volleyball regional championship game against host Lyons Twp. with an ace.
When fellow senior Nina Crawford followed with three of her own as the Hilltoppers surged to an 8-1 lead, DuMerer and the third-seeded Hilltoppers thought the match would be a two-game sweep.
It was, yet they weren't the ones doing the celebrating.
Sixth-seeded Lyons, which had lost to the Hilltoppers in straight sets just last week, pulled a stunning reversal, winning 25-21, 26-24.
It was the first regional title since 2014 for the Lions (21-13), who stormed back from a 10-3 deficit in the opening game. Glenbard West (25-12) saw its streak of regional championships snapped at 6.
"I think we came out with very strong energy, but I think we started to get too relaxed and I think they started gaining more momentum as the game went on," DuMerer said. "They just played very well."
Indeed, the Hilltoppers didn't lose the match as much as the Lions took it from them. The Hilltoppers fell out of rhythm and couldn't get it back, mainly because of great blocking from the Lions, who scored 7 points off blocks. That included 3 from 6-foot-1 senior middle Savanna Dodson, who is being recruited by Indiana, and 2 each from 6-1 middle Courtney Branch and 5-11 junior outside Patti Cesarini.
"I know that having a loss to them was pretty tough in the first place, but I think that's what motivated us to do even better," said Cesarini, who was one of 5 Lions with at least 5 kills. "It was really all in our heads.
"Once we figured it out that we had to flip the switch, we flipped it and then we came back and fought back."
Glenbard West led 14-11 in the first set but a Cesarini block gave the Lions the lead for good at 15-14. Crawford's kill gave the Hilltoppers a 23-22 in the tight second set, but the Lions scored 4 of the last 5 points, with Cesarini and Dodson spiking back-to-back kills to end it.
"(The Hilltoppers) wanted it so bad," Glenbard West coach Pete Mastandrea said. "They came out firing, but they weren't able to adjust when LT took over the game, which was surprising.
"What are you going to do? I thought we were very well-prepared and the kids played their hearts out, but hats off to LT, they played a perfect match against us."
The loss ended the seasons of DuMerer and seven other Glenbard West seniors, including star middle Ananda Patterson, who left the game in the second set after suffering a separated shoulder.
Junior Virginia Curtis led the Hilltoppers with 8 kills, while Crawford and Ellory Graff each had 6 kills and DuMerer dished 23 assists.
"All of us have had such an amazing experience these four years at West and I couldn't be more thankful for it," DuMerer said. "I think the injuries that we had at the beginning of the season just pushed us more to be as best as we can be for this playoff run.
"Even though it didn't end the way we wanted it to, I just think we all poured all poured our hearts into it."