Boys volleyball: Lyons keeps grinding, sweeps Downers Grove North to win sectional title
Senior outside hitter Sam Levinson can pinpoint the moment Lyons Township improved from being a good team into a great one.
"The second half of the year, we changed our identity to a team that just beats you down because we don't make errors," Levinson said. "We're consistent, levelheaded and we just keep grinding."
That's exactly what the top-seeded Lions did Tuesday. They didn't make a hitting error until the 59th point of the match and finished with only three in sweeping second-seeded Downers Grove North 25-17, 25-23 to win the Oswego Sectional championship.
LT (33-6) advances to play Brother Rice in the state quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Friday at Hoffman Estates.
Levinson, a Springfield College recruit, led the way with 10 kills. Junior Luka Kostic added eight kills and senior Connor Carroll added four kills and a block for the Lions, who beat the Trojans (29-10) for the third time in four tries this season.
"We had all the confidence in the world," Levinson said. "We knew what to do coming in and we hit the shots in spots that we wanted to hit.
"We came in prepared. We were ready to go. Obviously, that showed."
Indeed, the Lions never trailed. Levinson and Kostic each had five kills in the opening set, which was never close even though the Trojans made only two hitting errors.
"They were in system and they passed really well," Downers North coach Mark Wasik said. "They're big, powerful hitters and they just put us on our heels, and as a result, we were going to have to execute at a really high level.
"We didn't necessarily do that, so LT deserved that match."
But the Trojans didn't go down without a fight. The Lions took an early 3-0 lead in the second set behind two Levinson kills, but Downers North stayed within three points until libero Zaccary Ruiz served an ace to extend the Lions' lead to 18-13.
The Trojans, however, rallied behind the play of Quinn Leahy and Adam Janowiak, who each had a block and a kill during an 8-2 run to tie it at 21-21. North had a chance to take the lead when it was tied at 23, but the Lions regained the lead on a service error and then Levinson clinched it with a kill off a set from Tommy Culver.
This will be LT's seventh state quarterfinal appearance but first since 2016.
"It's something I've wanted to do since I started high school," Levinson said. "I've had club teammates who have done it, and now to finally do it is awesome, especially my senior year."
Janowiak and Theo Pawlik each had seven kills and Grant Henderson dished 23 assists to pace the Trojans, who were appearing in a sectional final for only the third time in program history and first since 2017.
"We got stung a little bit," Wasik said. "But I talked to the team about that (comeback) in terms of just the fight.
"At least we showed our true selves in terms of what we can do, hanging with one of the better team sin the state. We hold our heads up high."