Feely, Libertyville have the touch against Antioch

Libertyville senior Peter Feely entered high school after a few years of basketball in middle school. And then he tried volleyball in high school.

He learned quite a bit about this new sport for him. And he also saw his name change.

"My volleyball coaches started calling me Pete,'' Feely said.

Well, this Pete Feely fellow is becoming a very potent middle blocker for the improving Wildcats.

"He's grown up a lot,'' said Libertyville coach Jen Smith. "He's in his second year with me. He's dominating and very hard to block."

Monday night's foe was young Antioch. Feely and his teammates prevailed 25-12, 25-11.

The Wildcats (5-7) entered last weekend's Lake County Tournament winless but have made huge strides since then.

"We cured some ills,'' Feely said. "Our passing between the defense and the setter has improved."

Feely's block kill ended the first set. The Sequoits (1-12) managed to stay with the Cats early behind the defense of Ian Flatley (11 digs, 2 kills).

However, the powerful offense of Zac Hauser, Konnor McCormack and Nick Zoellick proved to be too much for Antioch.

"We didn't play terrible,'' said Antioch coach Jamie Atkinson. "We've had some health issues, so we go on small victories. We are a young team so we are still figuring it out."

Set two saw the Sequoits actually lead in the early going. Even after a Feely kill and a serving ace from Kyle Winiger, the Libertyville lead was just 6-5.

Then Hauser, a senior, made his move with sophomore Sam Kharasch serving. Hauser and McCormack combined on a block kill and Hauser added a kill as the Cats' lead grew to 13-7.

"Hauser has a lot of experience,'' Smith said. "He helps Pete out a lot. He really pushes him."

The shot of match came from the veteran Chris Akers (5 kills), who reached for a ball that was over his head and then leaped up and put it over the net for a kill.

"That was a high-risk and high-reward play,'' Smith noted.

By the time Hauser and Zoellick (6 kills) notched kills, Libertyville was in control 17-8. With Akers serving, McCormack and Feely notched kills. Akers closed the match with serving ace.

Feely again played basketball first but is quite a fan of volleyball as well.

"Timing is so important in volleyball,'' Feely said. "This is true team sport."

With the match in hand, Smith gave sophomore Ryan Hirschel a shot a setting. He went home with 6 assists. Feely had 3 kills and 4 blocks, and McCormack had 3 kills and 4 blocks.

"This was a good match to get some of younger guys into,'' Smith said.