Hinsdale South tops short-handed Central
Hinsdale South's Jessica Brezwyn (4) celebrates with her team after scoring a point against Hinsdale Central on Oct. 19, 2011 in Hinsdale. The annual Volley for a Cure event between the two Hinsdale schools has both teams wearing pink, a silent auction, bake sale, and other fund raisers for the Susan G. Komen foundation. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 20, 2011 8:43PM
Jessica Brezwyn found out Hinsdale Central would be playing without kills leader Ally Davis just moments before Thursday night’s nonconference match would start.
“[Coach Lisa Martinez] told us at the last second so we would not be freaking out,” Hinsdale South junior outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn said.
Without Davis, Hinsdale South defeated Hinsdale Central 25-18, 25-21 in Hinsdale in the fourth annual meeting between the District 86 schools as part of a fund-raiser for breast cancer research. Both teams wore pink jerseys in the “Volley for the Cure.” The Hornets (26-9) ended their regular season by tying the series 2-2 after winning last year’s match 16-25, 25-18, 25-21.
Davis, a 6-foot-1 Michigan-bound outside hitter, re-injured her right knee in a 25-21, 25-21 loss to York, which gave the West Suburban Silver title to the Dukes. She had a team-high six kills in that match. Without any remaining conference games to play, Davis has been shutdown as a precaution for the rest of the regular season to recover for the playoffs.
Central coach Sheralynn Kellough said Davis will not play in Saturday’s Downers Grove North Invitational, which has five matches scheduled to be played in a single day.
The fifth-seeded Devils (16-14) open the Class 4A St. Ignatius Regional at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 against 11th-seeded Kennedy.
The third-seeded Hornets play at Reavis at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 against Reavis or Kenwood.
“We needed different people to step up tonight to fill in as best as they could,” Kellough said. “A lot of times it looked like the way our season has looked; we do it in spurts.”
South’s Brezwyn had a match-high seven kills, but Central senior outside hitter Katie Grabowski had five of her six kills in the second set while playing her final career match at home. South’s Alecia Kroeker had two kills and four blocks while Melissa Nava added three kills, three blocks and two aces.
“Now’s the time when we should play better,” Martinez said. “We have to do it every game from here on out.”
In the second set, the Hornets fell behind 15-12, but went on a 7-1 run to take control. The run started with two kills by Brezwyn and ended with back-to-back blocks by Kroeker.
Hinsdale South clinched its fourth consecutive West Suburban Gold championship with a 25-19, 25-10 win over Morton Oct. 18. The Hornets have won at least 18 consecutive conference matches.
“I think we’re doing well,” Brezwyn said. “We’re still improving. We don’t play until Tuesday and we’ll have at least three solid practices. I think we’re heading into [the playoffs] strong. There is always room for improvement.”
Sanne Hilbrich had four kills for Central, which lost for the third consecutive time after upsetting defending conference champion Lyons on Oct. 11.
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