Antioch outlasts Lakes in 3
Jessica Ploss and Brianna Grant slammed 8 and 7 kills, respectively, Marissa Grant rang up 20 assists and 11 digs, and Antioch’s girls volleyball team outlasted visiting Lakes 25-21, 22-25, 25-20 in a North Suburban Prairie Division showdown Wednesday night.
Elena Kelsh added 5 kills and 2 aces for Antioch (7-5), while Samantha Falco (2 blocks) and Abbi McIlhany chipped in 4 kills apiece. Sarah Gagnon had 11 digs in the win.
“We played some of our best volleyball for three sets against a very good Lakes team,” Antioch coach Glen Heitman said. “Marissa Grant set a great match moving the ball around and played awesome defense. Brianna Grant and Jessica Ploss played well in the middle and had a lot of touches on blocks.
“Samantha Falco played solid in the front row and touched a lot of balls, including a key block in the third set,” Heitman added. “Libero Sarah Gagnon played great defense with some key digs at the end of the match, (and) she also was key to our strong serve receive, as were Kelsey Schreiber and Brianna.”
Lakes (9-3, 2-1) received 7 kills from Emily Aigner, while Sarah Horner pounded four. Rachel Sieracke had 3 kills, 17 assists and an ace for the Eagles, while Shannon Grant chipped in 3 kills and 3 blocks. Stephanie Reed delivered 3 aces.
Mundelein d. Warren: The Mustangs captured the North Suburban Lake Division match 25-23, 25-18.
Mundelein (6-6, 1-2) was led by Courtney Perreault’s 5 kills. Karen Chim was 36-of-37 setting with 8 assists. Both Chim and Madi Wilcox served 2 aces.
Warren (5-7, 0-3) was paced by Savannah Slater (7 digs), Libby Perrone (9 digs 17-of-18 setting, 6 assists), Rachel Ziegler (5 digs, 23-of-23 setting, 5 assists), Allie Goad (3 kills) and Stephanie Karlovics 4 kills).
Stevenson d. Palatine: Liza Pflugradt pounded 10 kills, as the Patriots won the nonconference match 25-22, 21-25, 25-12.
Stevenson (9-4) also got 6 kills from Anne Geocaris. Alexa Gold served 4 aces, and Jamie Baranowski set 33 of 33 with 13 assists. Rachel Baader had 2 kills, 2 aces and 8 digs.
Wauconda d. Round Lake: Megan Tallman had 10 kills, 15 assists and 4 aces, and the Bulldogs won 25-14, 25-13 in North Suburban Prairie action.
Wauconda (7-5, 2-1) also got 5 kills from Erinn Hellweg and four apiece from Susan Karhoff and Ava Wilhelm. Karhoff also lofted 6 assists. Rebecca Thiltgen added 11 digs and 2 aces.
Vernon Hills d. North Chicago: Megan Meline slammed 3 kills and delivered 2 aces, and Shannon Nugent had 4 aces, as the Cougars captured a 25-9, 25-11 decision in North Suburban Prairie action.
Julie Pecht also had 2 aces for Vernon Hills (10-6, 2-0).
Libertyville goes 1-1: At the Wheaton Classic, the Wildcats fell to top-seeded Benet 25-15, 25-18 but rebounded to top Waubonsie Valley 25-20, 25-21.
Against Benet, Taylor Zant contributed 4 kills, while Ali Gattone led the way with five from the right side. Libertyville held tough, bursting out to early leads in both sets, but allowed two crucial service runs late in both sets that proved to be the difference.
“I was pleased the way we came out early, didn’t get intimidated, and played right at them,” Libertyville coach Greg Loika said. “Our net play has been better, but I was mostly satisfied with how we passed the ball for about 80 percent of the match. In crucial spots, we pressed a bit, but were working through that.
“Service mistakes (5 vs. Benet) and hitting errors (6), however, were costly against Benet, (which) capitalize quickly on the swings in momentum,” Loika added. “They are too good of a team to give free points to.”
Against Waubonsie, the Wildcats were in control most of the way, but some sloppy play and continued net errors kept things close, Loika said.
“It was indicative of the night, but I was happy we came away at 1-1 all things considered,” Loika said. “We’ll have some things to work on in preparation for the Silver division Saturday.”
Cindy Zhou dished out 26 assists for the Wildcats in their two matches. Kerry Risley added 5 blocks and 2 kills, and Kristen Webb registered 22 digs. Kelyl Cypher served 3 aces.