Boys Volleyball: Jason Dolinski, Kevin McMahon lead Lyons past Morton

Updated: March 30, 2012 9:10PM

Lyons used its height advantage to rise above a scrappy Morton squad 25-12, 25-19 Friday night.

The Lions (4-1) had little trouble with the Mustangs (0-2) in the first game as they went up 9-4 and proceeded to score 10 of the next 12 points to cruise to victory.

Senior 6-4 captain Kevin McMahon led the way in game one with six kills (eight total) while senior Jason Dolinski added five kills and an ace in the opening contest and had four more kills in game two.

“It was a good match for us, we got everyone in and that was good, and we used our height advantage pretty well,” Dolinski said. “We practiced yesterday and didn’t come into the game not practicing at all since we are on spring break, and worked pretty hard in practice and I think we needed that to win.”

Lyons coach Joann Pyritz was able to utilize her entire squad in the second contest, during which juniors Adam Spangler (five kills) and Kyle Smuda (three kills, three digs) left their mark on the Mustangs.

“We have some aggressive servers, we’re aggressive at the net and we have some big, tall kids across the net that really helped us today,” Pyritz said. “We also have a fairly deep bench. I have people I can sub into different spots, so that gives me some freedom. Today I used a different lineup in the second game and although we had a little bit of a point deficit there for a while, we never got behind.

‘‘We played steady, they played happy, the boys don’t get down on themselves and that’s a big part of a volleyball team. I’m sure Morton will play better next time we face them, so we had better be ready.”

Morton stayed close much of the second game behind Francisco Vasquez (five kills), Fernando Martinez (three kills, two digs) and Bryan Gutierrez (two kills). Eduardo Aguilar also contributed four digs and Andrew Franco three kills as the Mustangs hung close and tied the game 12-12, forcing Lyons to call a timeout.

But the Lions went on a 10-4 run to build a 22-16 advantage after a Dolinski smash for a point and went on to the 25-19 victory.

“We got served off the court. My team looked scared and timid, especially the younger guys,” Morton coach Tony Hornilla said. “I saw some good things, though. We’re young and it’s how much we improve over the course of the season that matters.

‘‘I have to get a lot of these young players used to playing at this caliber and utilize our speed and accuracy to overcome taller opponents. We run a fast, quick offense, but today we just couldn’t execute – but that will come in time.”

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