Girls volleyball: Willowbrook dispatches Lyons in Class 4A Hinsdale Central sectional semifinal
As chance would have it, the Willowbrook girls volleyball team will get the opportunity Wednesday to avenge its only loss of the season.
And on a much bigger stage, the Warriors could also set a program record for wins in the process.
On Monday, second-seeded Willowbrook punched its ticket to the Hinsdale Central Class 4A sectional final with a hard-fought 26-24, 25-22 victory over Lyons.
In defeating the Lions for the second time this fall - they won in three games back on August 30 - the Warriors (37-1) tied the 2021 mark for victories in a season while setting up a rematch with top-seed Oak Park, which dealt Willowbrook its lone defeat in late September. The Huskies knocked off the hosts from Hinsdale Central 25-19, 25-7 in the earlier semi.
The team has now won 18 matches in a row and has 35 of their wins in straight games.
"Not only are we having a good season," said senior Calli Kenny, who totaled eight kills and four aces, "but right now we are in a good place. The last tournament and the last couple of weeks, we've hit our peak for the season. We are all doing our jobs and playing our roles.
"Having already lost to Oak Park, it's a 'we have nothing to lose' type situation. So we are just going to go for it. Since we lost to them, I feel like we've grown so much so we are really excited going in. Everyone gets along so well on this team; everyone is positive and super supportive of each other. And the coaches make the environment so positive as well, it's an awesome group of coaches."
Anna Marinier closed out the back-and-forth match with a kill, one of five the junior had in game two. The Warriors led by as many as four points, the last time at 14-10, before Lyons clawed back on top 16-15. But thanks to four kills in a row by Hannah Kenny, Willowbrook went back in front.
"It was just about shaking off our errors," Marinier said, "and doing it for the person next to you and not for yourself. When we are on our game, everyone just comes together. We are ready (for Wednesday), I think we've improved so much throughout the season."
Hannah Kenny added four kills in the opening game and finished with a match-high 10. In game one, the Warriors jumped out to a 14-7 advantage only to watch the Lions surge back and eventually take a 21-18 lead. But a couple of kills by Calli Kenny, aces by Marinier and Elisa Chivilo and two Lyons hitting errors gave Willowbrook the opener. Lily Javier contributed two kills in each game.
"Right now the vibes are great," Hannah Kenny said. "We came out and played well and Lyons also played well. This is the most fun I've had playing volleyball. Just the positive energy of this team, it's a great group of girls. That helps us so much and we are excited to keep going."
Coming into Calli Kenny's freshman year, the Warriors' program had never won a regional. Now Willowbrook has captured four West Suburban Gold conference championships in a row (going 24-0 in that span in league play) and three straight regional titles, with a chance for a second sectional title. Their record over the past three seasons is 110-6.
"After that loss (to Oak Park) earlier in the season," Willowbrook coach Irene Mason said, "I told the girls we'd see them again in the sectional championship. We want to get it when it counts. They are excited and prepared for the rematch.
"We do a drill in practice, we call it 'clutch.' When it's clutch time, there is no time for errors. You are going to be in those type of close matches, against the top teams, where the team that can eliminate the errors at that point will pull it off."
Lyons closed out its highly successful campaign with a record of 30-8, with six of those losses coming to opponents with more than 30 wins. Grace Turner had six kills and Sienna Olson and Anabelle Montgomery tallied five apiece to top the Lions.
"I don't think this game was truly an indicator of how we played all season," Lyons coach Jill Bober said. "We came out with such fire and energy for most of the season, I thought we came out a little timid tonight and that was disappointing."