Girls volleyball: York hands Lyons 1st loss

Katie Norgle is accustomed to looking Gigi Barr's way whenever York is in need of a big point.

So, yes, it was disconcerting to have Barr sitting out the third set Thursday nursing a sprained ankle.

"We look for her on the court almost every point," said Norgle, York's other senior outside hitter, "so seeing her on the sidelines is heartbreaking for all of us. Not only is she such a good player, she's also a great teammate."

The Dukes picked Barr up Thursday.

After losing Barr late in the second set, a set in which York saw six match points turned away, York pulled together to finish what Barr started. The Dukes put away previously unbeaten Lyons Township 25-22, 28-30, 25-20 in a West Suburban Silver match in Elmhurst.

York trailed 3-0 and 7-5 in the third, but kills by Kayla Rask and Norgle started a pivotal 11-1 run that turned the clinching set into an improbable runaway for the short-handed Dukes.

"When an asset like Gigi gets hurt, who is a huge weapon, other people had to step up," said Norgle, who had 13 kills and 10 digs. "We had to focus on communicating on the court and just working together. We focused on minimizing the errors on our side, because most of our points we lost because of that."

Barr, a 6-foot-1 Yale recruit, is a dominating presence for York. She has over 1,000 kills for her career, and hits a ball with authority like nobody else in the gym Thursday. She had 13 kills in just two sets, launching several shots that a scrappy Lyons team just couldn't dig up. On one occasion, a Lyons player prepared to defense a Barr shot, but at the last second ducked to avoid the high velocity.

But with York holding a 27-26 lead in the second, Barr landed on the Lyons setter's foot under the net, and had to be helped off the court.

"She'll bounce back; it's a sprain," York coach Patty Iverson said.

Iverson wasn't so certain about her team, after Lyons scored the last three points of the second set and first three of the third.

"I told the girls 40 percent of our kills just went off the court, so we have to step up now," Iverson said. "But you know what, sometimes that happens. A great player goes out and everybody comes together."

That was indeed the case Thursday. Grace Meadows had 13 digs and three aces and Elise Pedote nine. Grace Rask had three kills, and they were big ones, including match point.

"Rask did a great job for us," Iverson said. "They all came back and really responded well."

Lyons (6-2, 2-1), which came in tied atop the Silver with Downers Grove North, gave a glimpse why Thursday.

The Lions, trailing 24-21 in the second, scored three straight points to keep the match going, tying it on sophomore setter Abby Markworth's clever dump shot.

Markworth, at 5-foot-11, was actually Lyons' tallest player Thursday. But what the Lions lack in size they make up with a determination to dig up every ball and prolong rallies. That perseverance seemed to let down a touch in the third set, though.

"Up until that third set we followed our game plan. We played consistently and we played with heart," Lyons coach Jill Keeve said. "That is the moral of this team. We are gamers, regardless of what girls are here. Unfortunately that third we just fell flat, got caught in quite a few runs in serve receive and were not able to dig ourselves out."

The Lions, who play Downers Grove North Tuesday, were short-handed, with middles Tia Kostic and Kamryn Lee-Caracci gone for club commitments.

"Regardless, we had some really amazing girls who filled in beautifully," Keeve said. "I'm grateful for all those girls. They play with heart."

The match carried significance beyond the court. Team members read the names of people affiliated with the programs affected by cancer. A banner was raised to recognize Sarah Rose, a four-year setter at York now a senior at Marquette who was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma last September. With help from donations, the two teams have raised over $4,000 to be donated to Lurie Children's Hospital to support pediatric cancer research and treatment in honor of Sarah Rose.