It had been tough for anyone to slow down the Lyons Township boys volleyball team over the last few weeks.

Naperville Central found that out on May 26 as 10th-seeded LT upset the No. 7 Redhawks 25-17, 25-22 in a regional semifinal at Hinsdale Central. It was the ninth win in 10 matches for the Lions.
The following night, though, LT’s (18-18) strong surge was stopped by rival Hinsdale Central 23-25, 25-15, 25-19 in the regional final.

“We’ve been on fire lately,” senior hitter Michael Bartman said following the semifinal victory. “Throughout the year we have improved and it’s just been a lot of hard work. Because coach P (head coach Joann Pyritz) has been around a while she’s coached every type of team. It’s a brand new group of kids, but we pulled together.”

It was a bitter pill to swallow following the loss to West Suburban Silver rival Hinsdale Central, a postseason opponent for the third straight year.

However, knowing where this team started and where it finished was a silver lining.

“The officials mentioned to me — and they’ve seen us quite a bit during the season — that we look like our game as a team has significantly improved and that’s what we work for,” Pyritz said. “It’s rewarding to know that we’ve made some strides as a team.
“We didn’t show our true colors tonight (in the regional finals), but you also have to think, well often that happens when a better team takes their points from you.”

LT could not have asked for a better start to the championship match. Sam Thimmig, Dan Lalonde and Bartman all had kills as the Lions jumped out to a 17-10 lead. The Red Devils stormed all the way back to go ahead 23-22. However, back-to-back kills by Bartman and a smash by Thimmig closed out the game.

Despite the loss, the Red Devils carried momentum. After winning Game 2, they opened the third with a 9-2 surge — too much for the Lions to overcome.

“We just were out of sync a little bit tonight and really didn’t play our best match,” Pyritz said. “And not to take anything away from Hinsdale, they have some very good players, but we were a little more out of sync tonight that we had been. Many of our players know they can play a better match individually and it would have resulted in a better team game.”

In the semifinals, LT faced a 4-0 deficit to start the match against Naperville Central but maintained control from then on. Behind four service points by Matt Corte the Lions went up 13-10 and Lalonde pushed the game out of reach with a five-point streak for a 24-15 advantage.

“It’s all a part of playing a tough schedule,” Bartman said of overcoming the early hole. “We’ve been down before so we know how to bounce back. The records don’t matter once you get to the postseason.”

Points were a bit more tough to come by early in the second game as the teams went back and forth to an 11-11 tie. But again, the Lions were too much down the stretch.

Kayvan Carroll had a kill and two blocks during a 6-0 run that put LT ahead 19-12 and a Redhawk hitting error kept the lead comfortable at 22-17.

Naperville Central made a last push to get within 22-21 but two hitting errors and a kill by Lalonde closed it out.

Sam Thimmig and Michael Bartman both finished with six kills, while Corte dished out 17 assists.

“We really are playing well at the time when were supposed to play well,” Pyritz said. “While it’s certainly an up-and-down year in terms of progress, toward the end here we were able to turn it on.”