Boys volleyball / Lake County roundup

On Vernon Hills' senior night, senior Tristan Klintworth led the team in kills (5) and blocks (2), as the Cougars defeated Antioch 25-14, 25-14 on Wednesday.

Vernon Hills (19-8) improved to 8-1 in the North Suburban Conference to remain a game back of Lake Zurich.

"Tristan has been maybe our most consistent guy in practice, just busting his butt every day, getting better every day," Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry said. "It was nice to see that pay off a little tonight. He gives us a nice option on the right side."

Vernon Hills also got 4 kills apiece from Dylan DeBoer, senior setter Ryan Opitz (9 assists), senior Tyler Small (2 blocks) and senior Max Spiglanin (2 aces). Senior Michael Heinz served 5 of 5 and chalked 4 digs. Alon Polischuk led the Cougars with 8 digs.

Stevenson d. Lakes: Josh Cliffer clobbered 9 kills, as the Patriots outlasted the Scouts 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 in North Suburban action.

Stevenson (14-18, 3-5) also received 6 kills from Connor Perlin and five from Keenan Herman. Jeff Maskalunas had 2 solo and 5 assisted blocks, and Lucas Creevy dished out 15 assists. Timothy Park led the Patriots in digs with 16.

Libertyville d. Lake Forest: Chris Akers' 11 kills, 14 digs and 3 blocks helped lead the Wildcats to the 25-23, 18-25, 25-23 win in a North Suburban thriller.

Libertyville also got big contributions from Marc Laska (7 kills), Zac Hauser (4 blocks, 3 kills), Pete Feely (4 kills, 3 blocks), Konnor McCormack (5 kills, 4 blocks), Scott Spence (3 kills), Kyle Winiger (15 assists), Chris Rill (14 assists) and Adam Sachs (21 digs).

"We are finally playing how we want to be playing," Libertyville coach Jenny Smith said. "The boys came with a ton of energy, controlled our errors and stepped up our all-around play. Great timing to be playing our best."