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Schools

LT Volleyball Teams Wins Sectional Title; One Step From Third Straight Trip Downstate

The Lyons Township girls volleyball team will play Marist at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Hinsdale South Super-Sectional with a downstate berth on the line after beating Whitney Young in three sets Thursday to capture the Class 4A Whitney Young Sectional.

Senior four-year varsity players Laura Williams, Alexis Viliunas and Megan Miller looked like veteran leaders for the Lyons Township girls volleyball team Thursday.

So did Toni Saracco and Hannah Juley. And they’re freshmen.

The Lions were challenged by an inspired Whitney Young team playing on its home court, but they found another gear in the third set and prevailed 27-25, 22-15, 25-16 to capture the Class 4A Whitney Young Sectional championship.

LT (30-8) goes for its third straight downstate trip against Marist (33-6) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Hinsdale South Super-Sectional. It's the Lions' eighth consecutive appearance in the super-sectionals.

“I just think the three seniors made a huge difference, but also Toni Saracco not playing like a 14-year-old anymore. A lot of good passing and serving going on. And Hannah Juley scoring from her side too,” LT coach Joann Pyritz said.

“Laura (Williams) made a difference with her hitting. We quickened up the pace with the sets a little bit (mostly from Viliunas). Their block wasn’t closing. Laura found those seams. We had scoring from a lot of areas so that made a difference.”

Saturday will be a rematch of last year’s super-sectional, which LT won en route to the state championship after finishing second in 2009. Marist won the Andrew Sectional 28-26, 26-24 over Sandburg, which had split two matches with LT this season and beaten Marist in their first two meetings. On Tuesday, Marist eliminated Mother McAuley, which beat LT twice.

Led by Division I-bound Miller (Wake Forest), Viliunas (Illinois) and Williams (Duke) -- the lone returning starters from last year’s lineup – the Lions now have won 30 matches for the third year in a row and 11th time in Pyritz’ 23 seasons as head coach.
 
With her kill on match point, Williams finished with 20, along with three digs, two assists and an ace. Viliunas dished out 31 assists and also had 11 kills with nine digs. Libero Miller had 30 digs and two assists.

Junior Alyssa Keeve had five kills and a team-best three aces and sophomore Catherine King had one kill.

Meanwhile, the rotation of Juley (5 kills) in the front row and Saracco (5 digs, ace) in the back also contributed to both set victories.

Saracco had six service points in the third set, including the final two. As the opening server, Saracco had an ace and gave LT a 3-0 lead. The Lions led throughout the set, opening a 13-8 advantage after Williams kills on three consecutive points.

Young (33-5) never again got closer than three points.

“I’m glad in the third game we broke away so it wasn’t point to point,” Pyritz said. “That’s why I called the early timeout (with LT leading 15-12). I wanted to make sure we kept the lead. I just felt a little momentum shift, and I wanted to make sure it didn’t shift at all.”

In the first set, Young led by four points twice, but Williams had back-to-back kills as part of a four-point LT run that established a 21-21 tie. Williams later served two points with an ace to give the Lions their first set point at 24-23. LT also led 25-24 after a Keeve kill before Viliunas served set point at 26-25 on an attack error.

Juley helped to keep the Dolphins’ blocking honest with three kills from the rght side in the set.

“Hannah’s 14 also. We needed her to come around," Pyritz said. "We remembered that one week (in mid-October) we didn’t have her because she had a concussion. She’s a good athlete, Saracco too. They’ve grown up and they’re playing like their 17, which is what we needed them to do.”

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