Hornets top short-handed York

Updated: April 28, 2011 10:13PM

Hinsdale South is making a habit of coming from behind. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

“We were fortunate to play through it [today],” senior middle hitter Eric Kluge said. “Sadly, we don’t always stand on the right path. We fall behind.”

The Hornets trailed by five points in the first set and by eight points in the second set, but rallied each time to beat York 25-23, 25-22 Thursday night for a nonconference victory. Besides tournament play, Hinsdale South (12-10) has not been able to win back-to-back matches this season. The Hornets beat York (6-12) just 24 hours after losing at Metea Valley, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22.

“We couldn’t stop making errors,” Hornets coach Billson Rasavongxay said. “We are trying to fight all year long. In that second game [against York] were were down 9-1. I know we have the confidence to win. Too bad we put ourselves in that situation.”

The Dukes played their second consecutive match without starting setter Eric Lund, a 6-foot-2 senior, who sprained his left ankle and was limited to the bench with a walking boot. The Dukes lost their first match without Lund, 25-15, 25-16 on April 26 against Oak Park-River Forest.

Before Lund’s injury, York switched to a two-setter offense with junior Jacob Ruprecht sharing the setting duties. Ruprecht had 16 assists against Hinsdale South after making his debut as the solo setter against OPRF.

“It’s a lot of pressure to put on a kid to come in for an injured captain,” York coach Kenneth Dowdy said of Ruprecht. “I thought we responded. Errors occurred and I thought you saw a snowball effect.”

Dowdy expects Lund to return next week. York was led by Jack Meehan with six kills and Kevin Hobbs with four kills.

Senior outside hitter Ray Riordan (seven kills) scored four of Hinsdale South’s final five points in the match with three kills and a block against Meehan to put the Hornets ahead 24-22. Brandon DeClouette ended the match with a kill.

Eric Damon finished with 23 assists while Eric Kluge had a match-high eight kills and two blocks. Robbie Mead hammered all five of his kills in the first set.

Hinsdale South hosts Riverside-Brookfield Tuesday, May 3, before playing at Hinsdale Central at 6 p.m. May 5 in a showdown between District 86 schools. South defeated Central 15-25, 25-21, 25-5 on April 8 at the St. Charles East Invitational.

“We’re a young team with a lot of inexperienced players,” Riordan said. “It was good to get a key win here. This will help with our momentum.”

In the first set, York led 12-7 before igniting a comeback. Meehan’s kill gave the Dukes a 23-21 lead, but the Hornets scored the final four points. Manny Gutierrez’s only kill in the match gave Hinsdale South a 24-23 lead and then Kluge ended the set on a kill off a back-slide set from Damon.

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