Z-B a hit as Lakes takes second in Lake County tournament
He's not the kid you would want to meet in a dark alley. At 6 feet tall, Zion-Benton senior Dillon Appenzeller is a safety on the football team and a right side hitter on the 18-1 Zee-Bees volleyball squad.
When Appenzeller finds a volleyball to his liking, he hits it hard.
"I've been hitting like this since I was fifth grade," Appenzeller said. "Everybody would said, 'Wow.' "
"Wow" is how his Zee-Bees looked in the Lake County tournament held at Grant on Saturday. Zion-Benton stopped Dalton Solbrig and Lakes 25-15, 25-23 to claim the title.
"We knew about Dillon back in the seventh grade," Zee-Bees coach Jacob Carlson said. "They told me, 'You have will have a kid who will put the ball away.' "
Appenzeller is teamed up with 6-6 senior Kyle Fitzgerald who, like Appenzeller, can pound a volleyball.
On the other side of the net in this title match was the University of Hawaii-bound Solbrig. It's no secret that he is a dangerous hitter for the Eagles (10-10). In the two sets, he rang up 16 kills.
Lakes coach Katie Cheek was clearly pleased with her second-place trophy.
After getting handled in the first set, the Eagles pushed the Zee-Bees in the second set.
"We talked in the huddle that we had nothing to lose," Cheek said. "We know we can be good."
Eagles outside hitter Nick Halberg know his team can finish strong this spring.
"After a rocky start, we are getting better," Halberg said. "This isn't the most talented team we've played on, but we are hoping for a better ending to the season."
Z-B earned a berth in the title game by stopping Libertyville in two well-played games. The Wildcats fell 25-23, 27-25. This was a Wildcats team that headed to Grant with no wins.
Libertyville finished third in the tourney after wins over Lakes, Grant and a team from Indiana. Chris Akers is playing his fourth varsity season for Libertyville.
"We have great team chemistry," Akers said. "We are good friends on and off the court. We all hang out together."
The team's slow start didn't bother the senior.
"We addressed some issues," Akers said.
In an oddity early in the match, Libertyville sophomore Sam Kharasch served a ball that ended up getting caught in a net high up in the Grant gym. No, the ball did not come down.
The Wildcats did not lead in set one but had strong play from Akers, Zac Hauser, Mark Franz, Nick Zoellick and Pete Feely. In set two, on kills from Akers and Zoellick, Libertyville forged a 10-10 tie. Appenzeller placed a match-ending kill for Z-B.
Libertyville coach Jen Smith felt her team's 0-5 start deserved an explanation.
"We played some very good teams like New Trier, Zion and Hersey," Smith said. "We kept fighting back but errors were killing us."