Girls Volleyball: Hinsdale South’s Colleen Lyons looks for full-time spot

Updated: July 18, 2012 6:03PM

Starting Monday, the volleyball season really kicks into gear for Hinsdale South.

For a senior such as Colleen Lyons, this is the week where starting positions are battled and the hard work of preparing for the high school season begins.

The Hornets’ summer camp opened Monday and will be held for the next 2 1/2 weeks until July 31. Lyons and other key seniors such as UNC-Greensboro-bound outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn, setter Sharon Anderson and outside hitter Rachel Kent will enter their final camp after the club volleyball season ended in late June.

Hinsdale South opened the Great Lakes Center summer league July 10 in Aurora, but hasn’t met regularly as a team until the opening of Monday’s camp. The sessions are long, going from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Lyons with half-hour or one-hour breaks in between for conditioning drills.

“This is a great way for us to come together,” Lyons said. “We will not be as nervous (playing) and get in sync as a team.”

There isn’t much time left in the summer for Lyons to enjoy. After summer team camp ends, Lyons and her teammates have nearly a week off until tryouts begin Aug. 8. After returning from the AAU Junior Nationals with Westmont-based New WAVE 17 Tornado, Lyons spent time at her family’s lake house in Indiana. While at AAU Junior Nationals, Lyons and her club teammates only spent one day during the season-ending tournament in Orlando, Fla., at Universal Studios theme park.

Lyons is working on becoming Hinsdale South’s starting right-side hitter after taking over that position full-time near the end of last season when Lyons replaced Karley Jerden, who graduated. The 5-foot-9 Lyons, a Darien resident, was back at right-side hitter for the opening day of the Great Lakes Center summer league. She had eight kills, while Brezwyn had a match-high nine kills in a two-set split against District 86 rival Hinsdale Central.

At Great Lakes, pool-play matches are each two sets due to time constraints leading up bracketed playoffs on July 24. Hinsdale Central won the first set 29-27, but the Hornets won 25-13 in the second set. The match featured a reunion of sorts between five club teammates playing for Hinsdale Central and South. New WAVE’s Tornado team featured Lyons, Emily Mihalkanin and Kent from Hinsdale South and Dominique Millette and Rachel Lenderman from Hinsdale Central.

The Hornets were missing starting middle hitter Jackie Adelphia, who was out of town. Without an established middle, Anderson spread the ball to her outside hitters while Kent added six kills in the match. Hinsdale South used juniors Sarah Garringer and Natalie Bochenek in the middle for the league’s three opening matches.

Hinsdale South won the West Suburban Conference Gold Division last season, but would like to repeat 2010’s long playoff run.

“It’s really exciting,” Lyons said. “Last year was fun being a junior, but I’m excited about stepping up as a senior.”

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