Girls Volleyball: Hannah Kenny’s spectacular play sends Willowbrook past York into sectional final

HILLSIDE – Whether it’s contorting her body for a set, a savvy fake-out quick toss over the net or a power swing for a kill, Hannah Kenny leaves no doubt about her ability on the court.

A smile from Kenny, a Willowbrook sophomore, after a kill or a perfect set to the outside to her older sister Calli perhaps says plenty, too.

“She’s definitely one of the best in the state. Easy,” Willowbrook coach Irene Mason said after the Warriors’ 25-15, 25-18 sweep of York in the Class 4A Proviso West Sectional semifinal Oct. 31. “Once people can see it – the stats don’t always tell – but once you see her and see her athleticism, you would never know the size she is [5-foot-7].”

Hannah Kenny, a setter and right-side hitter, is just one of several powerful cogs for a Willowbrook team vying for a second consecutive sectional title.

“[Playing with this team] really is an unreal experience,” said Kenny, who had six kills and an ace Oct. 31. “It’s so fun. Every time we step on the court, especially going in a playoff, is just a different experience. We all just have so much fun and so much energy. It’s really unreal.”

The Warriors, who are on a 29-match win streak and haven’t lost since Sept. 3, met St. Charles East in Wednesday’s sectional.

Willowbrook (36-2) had a comfortable lead in set one against the Dukes. York (26-12) go to within 16-12 after a Warriors attack error, but the Kenny sisters kept Willowbrook rolling.

In the second set, York held a brief one-point lead at 9-8, but a Hannah Kenny kill and two kills from Natalie Cipriano sparked a Warriors’ run. After a Calli Kenny kill for a 20-12 Willowbrook lead, York hung tough behind strong efforts from Katie Day, Clare Mortenson and Emelyn Stettin, but the Dukes then ran out of gas.

Calli Kenny put down eight kills and an ace. Cipriano had five aces and Hope Reckamp had two kills for Willowbrook.

“The energy from every single one, whether they’re on the court or on the bench, and the buy-in is just amazing,” Mason said. “You can feel it on the court, whether we’re coming from behind or we’re solid and comfortable [and] locked in. Energy stays consistent, which is great.”

Stettin and Mortenson each finished with five kills to pace the Dukes.

“I thought we did an awesome job defensively,” York coach Daniel Piwowarczyk said. “We were getting a ton of balls up.”

York fell to Willowbrook in the regional final last season.

“I said this quote last year because we lost to them in the playoffs, but the Kennys are sure something,” Piwowarczyk said. “They really are. They’re spectacular. We were getting behind the ball and it’s still just, they were just hitting so hard . We were getting there and trying to get the ball up. We did a good job getting a lot of the balls up from them, but at the end of the day, they’re super power hitters. There’s really not much you can do. We did everything we could.

“I thought we did an excellent job digging everyone else. That was kind of the game plan going in – hey, we can defensively play with them. We were trying to serve them tough and we got them out of system quite a bit. But even out of system, the Kennys kept putting the ball down.”

Stettin was “definitely our best hitter today,” Piwowarczyk said.

“That first set, she really kept us in it when it was 10-10. She’s just getting kill after kill and mixing up shots very well,” Piwowarczyk said.