Breakfast of (Near) Champions

York boys volleyball team makes history finishing second in state

By Jeff Vorva

Some believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For York’s boys volleyball team, one breakfast became the most important meal of the season.

On April 16, the Dukes lost to Lyons, 25-22, 25-17, which was their second loss in four matches.

The next morning, the team met at Zach and Ben Brown’s house for a players-only breakfast, which included bonding and talking things out.

“We hit the reset after that game,” coach Ken Dowdy said of the Lyons loss. “They went to breakfast in the morning, and they had a team meeting on their own. There was no breakfast for me.”

But there were wins. Oh, there were a lot of wins.

The Dukes went 25-2 the rest of the way and reached the state championship for the first time in history but fell to Marist 25-21, 28-26 in the title game on June 1 at Hoffman Estates High School. Both losses in the season-ending tear came to Marist, which finished the season as the No. 2 ranked team in the nation according to a poll conducted by USA Today and the American Volleyball Coaches Association behind Loyola High School in California.

The Dukes finished 15th in the nation in the same poll and fourth in the Midwest Region behind Marist, Glenbard West and St Xavier High School in Cincinnati.

In the state title match, Marist and York played like they were the cream of the crop in the nation, as there were 28 ties and eight lead changes in the nailbiter.

It was quite a historic season for the Dukes.

“Of all the teams I’ve been on, this one has the best chemistry,” senior Jack Bute said. “We all love each other. There is no hate or anything. We’re all just ourselves and playing for the team.” As for breakfast, Ben Brown said the get-together was beneficial and not just for sandwiches and smoothies. “We needed to get our mentality back,” he said. “Instead of just walking in, we needed to play and practice with a purpose.”

The Brown brothers are from a family that has been big in the early days of the IHSA state tournament.

Their father, Chris, and his twin brother, Eric, helped Oak Lawn High School finish fourth in the state in 1993. It was just the second year the IHSA held a state tourney for boys volleyball.

Dowdy appreciated how the season went down after some of the early-season losses. “They don’t get down on each other – they are great teammates,” he said. “When you have nine seniors, and six have been three-year varsity starters, there is some maturity and experience. Our schedule has been daunting, and we responded.”
Other players on the state roster for the Dukes were seniors Owen Reifenrath, Jack Zitek, Logan Rice, Abe Cabellero, Charlie Meadows, Colin Harrington, Luke Shorter, juniors Carson Cruver, Evan Carry, Stan Pack, and Joe McGreal, plus sophomore Hunter Stepanich.

There were also postseason accolades to be had. Stepanich was named first-team all-state by the
Illinois Volleyball Coaches

Association, Ben Brown made the second team, and Rice made the third team.

The Sports Performance volleyball club and Illinois Prep Volleyball also had all-state recognition and Bute made it to the second team while Ben Brown and Rice were honorable mentions. Zachary Brown, Luke Shorter, and Stepanich made the IVCA All-Academic team.

It all added up to an unforgettable season.

“At the beginning of the year, I didn’t know if we were very good or if we were elite,” Dowdy said. “But after this – we are an elite team. I think the word ‘team’ is the key. We had so many weapons. Jack (Bute) had 300 kills. We had two middles with almost 200 kills each. Our offense was potent. We served well and we serve-received well. This is the most accomplished team ever to play York boys volleyball. They made their mark, and they left it all on the court. They played with so much confidence.”

Now, what’s for lunch?