York claims West Suburban Silver title

Top-ranked York used a pair of reliable weapons to beat host Hinsdale Central Tuesday night as the Dukes clinched their first West Suburban Silver title in three years.

Junior outside hitter Melissa Deatsch had eight of her match-high 12 kills in the first set and then Western Michigan-bound Caroline Rose (nine kills) added five kills in the second set as York won 25-21, 25-21.

The Dukes won for the 17th time in their last 18 matches and appear to have recovered from a three-set loss Oct. 13 at Marist, which ended a 15-match win streak. York heads into this weekend’s Lyons tournament and could face the host team, last year’s conference and defending state champions, a fourth time this season. The Dukes lead that series 2-1.

“(Marist) was a good wake-up call for us,” York coach Patty Iverson said. “We were taking things for granted. You have to work hard all the time.”

Senior setter Katie Gallagher had 27 assists and two blocks as Morgan Semmelhack added eight kills for York (24-3, 6-0). Deatsch’s kills in the first set were nearly as many as Hinsdale’s entire team (10) in the opening set.

The Devils (16-13, 4-2) put themselves in contention for a possible share of the conference title with an upset win over Lyons (22-6, 4-2), 26-24, 19-25, 25-2, on Oct. 11 in La Grange.

“They are a great team. I don’t think we’ve beaten LT since I’ve been here (12 years),” Devils coach Sheralynn Kellough said. “It was an exciting win. It was great just being in this position and contend for the title.”

Hinsdale scored three consecutive points to tie the first set at 10, but York responded with a 9-3 run to take control.

If there as a downside to York’s victory, Iverson believed it was at the service line. The Dukes led 9-4 in service errors.

“We made a lot of mistakes in this match and we did some other things well,” Iverson said. “When our (serves) were off, they were out or in the middle of the net.”

After playing at Lyons, top-seeded York opens the Class 4A playoffs against Elk Grove or Willowbrook at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 in the Elk Grove Regional.

The Devils will host Hinsdale South (24-9) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the fourth annual Volley for a Cure fund-raiser between the two sister schools. It will be the final home match of the season for Central, which ends the regular season Saturday at the Downers Grove North Invitational.

“I think that makes (the fund-raiser) so much better since it’s our last game at home,” Devils senior setter Ellie Van Keirsbilck said. “All of of fans will be there because it’s a big game and it’s the end of the season. We want to win.”

Michigan-bound Ally Davis led the Devils with six kills while Katie Grabowski had four kills and Emily Grasso (two blocks) added three.

Fifth-seeded Hinsdale Central opens the playoffs against 11th-seeded Kennedy at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 in the St. Ignatius Regional. Third-seeded Hinsdale South plays Reavis or Kenwood at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at Reavis.

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