Girls volleyball: Scouting Saturday's Fox Valley supersectionals

Class 4A Fremd supersectional

Crystal Lake South (32-7) vs. Libertyville (33-6)When: 2 p.m. Saturday

How they got here: CL South defeated Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake Central to win the PR regional, then downed Hononegah and Cary-Grove to win the CL South sectional. The Gators have not lost a set in the postseason. Libertyville beat Lake Forest and New Trier (3 sets) to win the Warren regional. The Wildcats then downed Glenbrook South and Carmel, each in straight sets, to win the Glenbrook North sectional.

Outlook: Crystal Lake South seeks its second-straight trip to the Class 4A Final Four but standing in the Gators' way is a formidable opponent in Libertyville, which won the North Suburban Conference championship. The Gators and Wildcats have played this season, back on Sept. 2 when CLS won in 3 sets 23-25, 25-17, 25-11.

But much has changed since then and even though that gives each coach a stat sheet to look at, neither the Gators' Jorie Fontana or Libertyville's Greg Loika will put much stock in that match over two months ago.

"We know we've changed. We've grown and developed and so have they," said Fontana, now 187-81 in her seventh year. "It's a team we won't take lightly."

And that would be wise for the Gators, the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division co-champs who were fourth in Class 4A last season. The Wildcats are led by Alex Basler, a 6-foot-2 middle who is committed to Cornell. She has 279 kills and 79 blocks on the season, including her 3 kills and 5 blocks in the sectional final win over Carmel.

But Basler isn't all Libertyville has. The Wildcats are deep and balanced, with 6-2 junior Hannah Zerwas (8 kills vs. Carmel) and 5-10 sophomore Anna Lillydahl (7 kills vs. Carmel) giving Basler plenty of help at the net.

"They've got a great middle in Alex and they put up a nice big block across the board, which will be something our hitters will have to to work at and adjust to," Fontana said.

Defensively, sophomore libero Morgan O'Brien had 14 digs against Carmel and now has 522 for the season along with over 30 aces. Junior Erin Dunleavy and senior Mikaella Faber combined for 14 digs against Carmel and senior setter Lizzie Apgar has over 600 assists on the year.

"They have a left-handed setter and that adds a different aspect," Fontana said.

Wildcats' coach Greg Loika likes the way his team is playing.

"We like to think we're a lot more diverse than what meets the eye," said Loika, now 128-27 in his fourth season. "We have good size at the front line and when our block is on it's a formidable block. We've had several girls step up for us and that makes it hard to prepare for us.

"It's about poise and execution, being the team that can execute their game plan. So far that's been us."

The Gators have one of the state's premier players in 6-foot Cincinnati recruit Carly Nolan, the honorary captain of the Daily Herald's Fox Valley All-Area team.

Nolan had 14 kills and 9 digs in the Gator's 2-set win over Cary-Grove in the sectional final and now has 309 kills and 585 digs for the season.

"As with any great player you're not going to stop them," Loika said. "They're going to earn their points. You just have to try to control and limit them but they have a great team around her that are all point scorers."

CL South's front line with Nolan is no slouch, as senior Emma Burkle and junior Kendal Kilberger have put up numerous big games this season.

The CLS attack starts with the precise setting of senior Cassy Sivesind, who now has 671 assists and over 130 digs for the season. The defense is led by libero Tori Falbo, who after collecting 16 digs against Cary-Grove is closing in on 700 for the season.

If there's an X-factor it might be the Gators' experience from playing in a supersectional last year.

"It helps," Fontana said. "The crowds are different, what's on the line is different. It's nice to have some players who have been in that arena before."

"They do have a lot of experience," Loika admitted, " and they are comfortable on the big stage. But with our postseason run, I think our girls are comfortable on the big stage as well.

"It should be very exciting."

Advancement: The winner of the Fremd supersectional advances to the Final Four next weekend at Redbird Arena in Normal, where it will play the winner of the Evanston supersectional match between Loyola and De La Salle at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.

Class 1A Harvest Christian supersectional

Harvest Christian (24-14) vs. Keith Country Day (36-2)When: 7 p.m. Saturday

How they got here: Harvest Christian defeated Elgin Academy and Westminster Christian to win the Chicagoland Jewish regional, then the Lions downed St. Francis de Sales and Newark to win the Westminster sectional. Keith beat Kirkland Hiawatha and Ashton-Franklin Center to win the A-FC regional, then dropped Galena and Lanark Eastland to win the River Ridge sectional. Neither team has lost a set in the postseason.

Outlook: It may not be David vs. Goliath but it's close.

For the third-straight year Harvest Christian will try to derail Keith from heading downstate, a place the Cougars have come away from the past two seasons with state championship hardware. This is Harvest's fourth-straight trip to the Elite Eight and Lions' coach Kim Floyd has the appropriate laid-back approach to Saturday's contest.

"We have nothing to lose," Floyd said. "We're the under dogs. They have two Division I players and a setter who is incredible."

That doesn't mean Floyd and the Lions are ready to throw in the towel. After beating Newark for the Westminster Christian sectional title Thursday, Floyd declared her team ready to give Keith its best shot.

"If we play like we played (Thursday) we can play with them," she said. "We're going to have to put up a big block and dig their hard spikes."

Those hard spikes comes mainly from 5-11 senior outside Iman McGary, who is committed to UConn. She had 14 kills in Keith's 2-set win over Lanark Eastland in Thursday's sectional final. The Cougars' other top players include junior libero Alex Nunez, who is committed to Loyola. Sophomore Reilly Wehrstein leads the defense and senior setter Marisa Morgan quarterbacks the attack.

The Lions counter with sophomore middle Mikayla Robinson and junior outside Ellie Burzlaff, who combined for 18 kills in the sectional final. Sophomore setter Hannah Murray led the attack with 25 assists, while senior Jade Martinez and freshman Amanda Cassidy had 9 digs each.

Keith beat Harvest in a Northeastern Athletic Conference match on Oct. 14 by scores of 25-15, 25-18.

"We'll have to control the ball and pass well so we can run our offense and get the ball to Mikayla and Ellie," Floyd said. "But the key will be the block."

Floyd says her team is peaking at the right time.

"The girls are playing out of their minds," she said. "(Thursday) everything was clicking."

Advancement: The Harvest Christian supersectional winner advances to the Class 1A Final Four at Redbird Arena in Normal and will play the winner of the Danville Schlarman supersectional match between Schlarman and Cissna Park at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.