ll-timed serving blues prove Chesterton boys volleyball team’s undoing as Trojans lose fifth set of sectional semifinal to South Central, 15-13, closing the page on a 23-9 season

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

The serving blues, a volleyball affliction that arrives without warning, can tear through a team and turn it on its side.
Chesterton’s boys squad which entertained crowds with aerial excellence all season, came down with a case of the serving blues at the worst possible time Saturday afternoon at Washington Township.
As a result, South Central advanced to Saturday night’s sectional final to play Kouts and Chesterton was left thinking about how they beat themselves more than the opponent ended their season.
Sometimes, the team that makes fewer errors is the one that advances and this clearly was one of those times.
The Satellites (28-2) won the fifth set, 15-13, to advance.
“When you have five missed serves and three hitting errors in that last set, that’s how that score’s going to go,” coach Cathy Dilbeck said. “I thought we did a good job controlling that last set, but when you have that many errors. … They didn’t really earn that many points. We gave them too many points in that fifth set and that was the difference in the match.”
Put another way, Chesterton scored eight points for South Central in the final set and the Satellites complemented that with seven points of their own.
The Satellites had to come from behind in the final set to get the job done.
Chesterton senior Randy Deutscher, a 6-foot-9 middle blocker, delivered the nastiest shot of the day, burning a steep, hard laser into the hardwood to give the Trojans a 10-7 lead.
But the serving blues and too many hard-hit balls that sailed well past the end line proved Chesterton’s undoing, ending a season in which the program took a big step forward with a 23-9 record, the highlights coming in a best-of-three win over Crown Point in the season-opening tournament, and wins over Valparaiso and Lafayette Harrison.
The final score of the final match: South Central won 14-25, 25-19, 25-22, 14-25, 15-13.
“We did well when we connected, but when you have eight errors in the fifth set and you’re only playing to 15, that’s exactly what the score’s going to look like,” Dilbeck said.
The coach didn’t attempt to sugarcoat the season not ending well, but her overriding sentiment was one of pride in the players.
“I thought at this point of the season with the leadership we had, we should have had a little bit better IQ executing and not making so many errors,” Dilbeck said. “But you know what, I have to give it to these guys. They had a hell of a season. I’m not going to let that last match define them.”
The Harrison win came without junior star Zane Westerlund, who missed the final 12 matches of the regular season with a sore back and returned for the sectional tournament.
“They were unbelievable all year, especially with Zane out for almost half the matches, they did a really good job of rallying,” Dilbeck said. “They’re a pleasure to coach. I’m looking forward to building a nice little tradition here at Chesterton.”
The Trojans started the day in dominant fashion and built an 8-1 lead in the first set. South Central never drew closer than five points and the final tally of 25-14 didn’t capture how one-sided it was.
The Satellites bounced back with wins of 25-19 and 25-22. Taking leads of 5-1, 15-8, the Trojans dominated the fourth set with another 25-14 win.
Chesterton loses eight players to graduation, including four regulars: Carson Chaffee, Deutscher, Adam LeNeave and setter Keith Ward.
Declan Ringler, a setter who shifted to outside hitter when Westerlund was sidelined and stayed there the rest of the way, and dynamic hitters Westerlund and Peyton Dilbeck return, as does junior reserve middle blocker Elliot Mehling.
“We have a nice little core coming back, so we’ll be trying to build the team around those four guys: Elliot, Peyton, Declan and Zane," the coach said. "Tyler Gilliam’s coming up and he brings us size. Hopefully, we keep building at the middle school. These guys getting touches in middle school, that will help with fundamentals.”
Ringler has practiced with the high school team since he was in seventh grade, when he was the manager.
“Declan’s played volleyball the longest, so his IQ I would say is the strongest on the team. Even though he is undersized on the outside, he does a good job of kind of schooling the weaker blockers or hitting around the blocks,” Cathy Dilbeck said. “He finds seams better than the other guys. Peyton’s all power. Is he seeing the blocker before he hits? No, he’s probably just swinging away. But Declan sees it.”
The coach’s son made big strides during the season.
“He did. He did. I think when Zane got injured, Peyton did a good job of trying to step up and be that go-to hitter,” Cathy said. “He kind of stayed up there. For being 6 foot, he is a little undersized for men’s volleyball but he jumps well. He hits hard. I thought all the guys did a good job stepping up and playing hard. It just didn’t go our way.”
Deutscher’s volleyball uniform will change, but he’s far from finished with the sport. He will play at Trine University in Angola. He came a long way during his Chesterton career as his coordination caught up to his size.
“I loved the time I had with this team,” Deutscher said. “It’s been a great season and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them. I’m sorry that it had to end.”
And happy that his time developing his game at Chesterton and in club volleyball landed him a spot on a college roster.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I can’t wait to play at a higher level and expand my volleyball experience.”