The York boys volleyball team’s successful 2026 season was reflected in the recent Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association all-state team selections.
The Dukes, who went 21-13 this season and won a regional championship, had three players earn IVCA all-state honors and a total of seven players receive academic all-state accolades.
Princeton University-bound Hunter Stepanich was named to the IVCA all-state first team, while senior middle blocker Leo Nardini was an IVCA all-state third-team selection. Junior outside hitter Alex Small was an IVCA all-state honorable-mention choice.
The news was even better on the academic all-state front. Stepanich, Nardini, Small, junior Henry Arnett, senior Emmet Dougherty, sophomore Brody Stephens and senior Yusef Suratwala were recognized for their academic prowess. In order to receive the IVCA academic all-state honors, players had to play in more than 50 percent of the team’s total sets and log a 3.75 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.68 out of 5.0 unweighted GPA.
York, which went 2-4 in a tough West Suburban Conference Silver Division that featured the state champion and state runner-up, saw its season conclude with a 25-14, 25-20 loss to conference foe and state runner-up Oak Park-River Forest in the semifinals of the Argo sectional in Summit. Oak Park later lost to Glenbard West in the state-championship match.
The Dukes reached the sectional by recording a 25-14, 25-22 win over Lyons Township to win the St. Laurence regional title in Burbank.
Stepanich led York with 16 kills and four aces and hit .519. Senior Chase McCall had five kills. Nardini and senior Owen Serr each had three blocks. Junior Connor Evans had 10 digs. Stephens had 13 setting assists, while Arnett had eight setting assists. York hit .367 in the match.
York advanced to the regional final after a 25-20, 25-22 win over Oak Lawn. Stepanich had 15 kills and hit .545. McCall had five kills, while Nardini had four blocks and Evans had six digs. Stephens had 13 setting assists, while Arnett had 10 setting assists.
The Dukes opened the playoffs with a 25-16, 25-8 win over Chicago Hancock. Stepanich had seven kills, two aces and three blocks, while hitting .500. Nardini had five kills and five blocks and hit .512. Suratwala had two aces, while Serr had three blocks. Stephens had 10 assists and Arnett added eight assists.
On the season, Stepanich led the team with 390 kills (5.1 per set) and hit .394. Small added 147 kills. Nardini had 123 kills and hit .368. McCall had 105 kills and hit .310. The Dukes hit .313 as a team.
Stepanich led the Dukes with 38 service aces. Nardini had 21 aces and Arnett added 19 aces. Nardini topped the Dukes with 57 blocks. Serr had 52 blocks.
Evans was York’s leader in digs with 203. Small and Arnett each had 91 digs on the season, while Stephens had 83 digs. Stephens led the way with 409 setting assists. Arnett had 357 assists.
York’s regional title this year was its fifth since 2015 and its 21 wins marked the fifth year in a row the squad has cracked the 20-win barrier under veteran coach Ken Dowdy.
