Seniors lead Lyons past Willowbrook

Updated: September 7, 2011 9:07PM

Last year, Lyons’ Alexis Viliunas, Laura Williams and Megan Miller ruled the roost. This year, they are playing mother hen.

The three seniors and only returning players from last year’s Class 4A state championship team are nursing a roster full of young players – including three freshmen and a sophomore – while building toward what they hope is another run at the state title.

Meanwhile, the Lions will have to rely on performances like that of Viliunas, Williams and Miller Wednesday at Willowbrook.

Viliunas had 13 assists, seven kills, a block and five aces, Williams added four kills and two aces and Miller was flawless in the backrow as Lyons defeated Willowbrook 25-9, 25-11 in a West Suburban Conference crossover match in Villa Park.

“I’ve been called ‘Mom’ by the team before,” Viliunas joked. “I just want to make sure everyone is doing something good, something positive. Laura, Megan and I are the only experienced ones on the team. We know how everything works.

“We’re just taking it one step at a time,” the Illinois-bound setter said. “It’s going to take a little while to blend together just because we’re not used to playing with any of these girls. Me, Megan and Laura are only ones who have played together for the past four years.

“We’ll just continue to work on blending together and by the end of the season we’ll be where we want to be,” she added.

Lyons got a late start to its season, playing its first match last Friday against York as part of a quadrangular at Lyons. The Lions upset the Class 4A favorites, who return five starters from last year’s fourth-place team, but dropped matches to Sandburg and Lake Forest.

“It was surprising,” Viliunas said. “We went into Friday night thinking York was going to be our hardest match. That was the one match we knew we wanted to focus on because they’re our big rivals, knowing all the girls on their team.

“But I think that we worked so hard in that one match, everyone was just drained,” she added. “It was really, really hot in the gym. I don’t think any of us are used to playing in that type of heat. Working so hard in that match just tired everyone out,”

Lyons had fresh legs Wednesday, and rotated junior Ana Krkic, freshman Hannah Juley and senior Anna McJohn in the middle with Williams and Alyssa Keeve settled on the outside.

“We’re trying to find that right combination,” Lyons coach Joann Pyritz said. “It’s not the same every night. By rotating those players in the middle, everyone is going to be ready at the end of the season. Whichever one it is, it is. Each one of them has their special strengths.

“Tonight, the three seniors clearly dominated the game,” the coach added. “That’s what’s making things happen. But we are going to need the support of the rightside blocker and middle scoring. That’s the only thing that’s going to keep blockers off Laura.”

Pyritz was pleased with her team’s passing, which allowed Viliunas to distribute the ball to seven different attackers during the course of the match.

“Our passing is pretty consistent,” she said. “(Freshman defensive specialist) Toni Saracco does a nice job, and of course Megan is at the helm of that passing rotation. Both of our outsides are very capable. Laura is an excellent passer and Alexis steps in and does her job passing.

“If we can get the rest of them coming along and contributing, I think we’re going end up with a little more balance in those big matchers and in tournament play,” Pyritz added.

Willowbrook (3-4), which is embarking upon a youth movement of its own with a freshman, two sophomores and two juniors in the starting rotation, got four kills from junior rightside Hannah Simons and five assists from freshman setter Kelsey Linnig.

The Warriors also got kills from sophomore Becca Sullivan, junior Marisa Klaasen and senior Andrea Enda.

“Youth and inexperience,” said Willowbrook coach Sue Bower, whose team was coming off an impressive win over Wheaton Warrenville South last weekend. “(Lyons) was the first team that we’ve come up against that is running different sets and our middles aren’t used to that.

“We know that is something we need to work on and to pick our pace a little bit,” she added. “We’re not as quick because we’ve got that inexperience. But tonight, I thought our passing was very good, which helped us. We’ve got a lot of things to work on.”

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