Girls volleyball: Willowbrook heads into postseason at 33-1

The emotions were still writ large on Willowbrook setter Katie Linnig's face.

The Missouri-St. Louis recruit was one of four seniors honored during senior night festivities before Thursday's regular season finale against West Chicago.

Even after the match ended, you could see a blend of relief, happiness and excitement pouring off Linnig following a 25-21, 25-10 victory that capped the greatest regular season in school history.

Lillig had 11 assists for the Warriors (33-1) to back another outstanding performance by sisters Calli and Hannah Kenny, who combined for 20 kills and 16 service points.

Willowbrook heads into the postseason as the No. 1 seed at the Class 4A Bartlett sectional having won three straight matches following Saturday's 22-25, 26-24, 25-22 loss to Lincoln-Way Central, which snapped their 40-game winning streak dating back to last spring's abbreviated season.

"We had a crazy season," Linnig said. "We came in hot at the beginning.

"In the end, we had our first loss, which was good before the playoffs because now we can experience what it feels like to lose."

That's a strange sentiment considering the Warriors have had little experience winning. Willowbrook has not played in a regional final since 2009 and has not won one since 1978, when regionals were called districts.

But this group has put an end to the losing ways. A small corps of seniors that includes Linnig, four-year starting libero Elizabeth Bruschuk, defensive specialist Madlynn Hoffman and outside hitter Kyla Ostrowski, a Wisconsin-Parkside commit, has combined with the Kenny sisters to blitz nearly all comers.

Sophomore Calli Kenny pounded 13 kills and freshman Hannah Kenny added seven kills and 15 assists against West Chicago, another team that has experienced a resurgence this season.

The Wildcats (24-8) used six aces, including two each from Trinity Nelson and Brianna Gromos, to take a 17-12 lead in the first set.

But Willowbrook responded with an 11-1 run behind junior Natalie Cipriano, who landed four of her five kills, and Calli Kenny, who added three kills and three aces during the streak.

"We just knew that we had to push those last few points," Linnig said. "There was a lot of emotions in the beginning with senior night, so I think everyone was kind of picking each other up, know we had to push each other and play hard for ourselves and the people around us."

Calli Kenny said the younger players stepped up to help honor the seniors. She erupted for 10 kills in the second game, one of which closed out a five-point run on Ostrowski's serve that gave the Warriors an 8-2 lead.

Calli Kenny had three more kills during a 6-0 serving run by Hannah Kenny, whose ace extended the bulge to 15-4.

"This is a really special group of seniors that we've all gotten so close to over the season, and we knew today was our last regular season home game for them," Calli Kenny said. "The emotions were high but we knew that we had to stay calm and play for our seniors and do everything we could to pick them up and win the game for them."

Now the question is whether the Warriors can keep it going in the playoffs. Only a few of the Warriors have ever played in a postseason game and none has won one. The Kenny sisters are among the Warriors who will make their playoff debut.

"I think we are ready," Calli Kenny said. "At the beginning of the season we all talked about our goals. We wanted to win regionals at the least and keep going forward, so we've been preparing for that the whole season in our practices and in our games. I think we're prepared."

Linnig thinks so, too, and said inexperience won't be an issue.

"I don't think you need much past experience in the playoffs," Linnig said. "I think coming from eighth grade to varsity as a freshman, you really need to step up and kind of show yourself. I think that helped (Hannah Kenny).

"Now we have to prove ourselves to the audience."

Willowbrook coach Irene Mason was pleased to see how the Warriors battled back from the early adversity to quickly turn the tide against a good West Chicago team.

"I think some of that first game was senior night jitters on our end," Mason said. "I told them that in games like that we want to make sure we don't let the emotions become too big or let the moment be too big.

"I think after they got through that and settled in, we looked like our normal selves, which is good to see. We've worked a lot on defensive side of things and just rising under pressure situations.

"They're ready for it."