A signature win for Smith, Warren

Good friends Henry Lamp of Lake Forest and Tyler Smith of Warren each signed a letter of intent Friday to play volleyball at St. Ambrose University in Iowa.

They two seniors then went out and played volleyball against each other.

Smith and his Warren teammates prevailed, defeating the host Scouts 25-21, 25-20 in North Suburban Conference action.

Lamp led Lake Forest with 10 kills, 4 blocks and 6 digs. Grant Dethlefsen had 4 kills and 4 blocks for the Scouts and Jeff Habjan dished out 13 assists.

Vernon Hills d. Zion-Benton: Martin Niemczewski and Thomas Robinson each slammed 8 kills, and Ryan Opitz lofted 17 assists, as the host Cougars rebounded from their loss to Libertyville two nights earlier with a 25-13, 25-15 win.

“The guys bounced back really nicely from Wednesday,” coach Chris Curry said after his Cougars improved to 14-2 and 3-1 in the North Suburban Conference. “Our focus and enthusiasm were completely different, and that helped us get off to a fast start against a really good, aggressive Zion squad. They’ve got a lot of weapons, but we served tougher than we had been and ran a nice offense.”

Opitz and Evan Borden (2 blocks, 1 kill), in particular, impressed their coach.

“Ryan Opitz made great decisions moving the ball around, and Evan Borden blocked as well as he has all year,” Curry said.

Lakes d. North Chicago: Eric Metzelaar and Mason Solbrig each had 6 kills for the Eagles in their 25-12, 25-3 win.

Solbrig also served 8 aces, while Dalton Solbrig delivered four for Lakes (9-11).

At Palatine: In pool play, Stevenson defeated Lake Zurich 25-14, 25-15 and then outlasted Waubonsie Valley 27-26, 19-25, 15-11.

Jason Fleischman and Brad Tiller had 13 and 10 kills, respectively, for Stevenson (15-2) against Waubonsie Valley.

Fleischman pounded 8 kills against Lake Zurich.