Milestone win, comeback-style, for Lake Zurich
Vernon Hills got off to a pretty good start in the first game of its North Suburban Conference boys volleyball matchup at Lake Zurich on Wednesday night.
But after posting a 25-22 victory in the opening game, the Cougars could never regain that same magic as a fired-up Bears squad bounced back strong on senior night with a 25-17 win in the second game, and a 25-20 triumph in the deciding game to win the match.
Vernon Hills (25-9, 8-3) had never lost a match to the Bears (7-4 in NSC) during Lake Zurich coach Lesly Ravenscraft's seven seasons at the helm.
But Lake Zurich came alive with big, late surges in both the second and third games to pull away from the Cougars team as some aggressive attacking by the Bears got the job done down the stretch.
Lake Zurich only led 18-17 in the second game before an out-of-bounds serve by Vernon Hills boosted its lead to 19-17.
That would be the final serve of the game for the Cougars as Lake Zurich senior Matt Carmody (8 kills, 3 blocks) closed out the game with 6 straight service points, with a hit by teammate Andrew Gilbertson (5 kills) put the finishing touches on the 25-17 win.
The third game was also heading down to what looked like a real nail-biter as a miscommunication by the Bears' defense allowed Vernon Hills to pull to within 19-17.
But then a spike by Carmody gave Lake Zurich a sideout, and senior Tommy Orchard rolled off 3 more service points.
Two blocks by junior teammate Nate Amos during that stretch increased the Bears' lead to 23-17, and yet another block by Amos on match point sealed the upset win by Lake Zurich. The Bears had lost to the Cougars in two games earlier this season during tournament play at Glenbrook North.
"We played like we've practiced lately, and we showed a little bit of a lack of character when we didn't put up a fight in the end," said Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry, whose team will host Palatine on Thursday in nonconference play to close out the regular season. "We don't have a lot of time to figure it out, but we have to be a little more focused and show more intensity in the match."
Vernon Hills looked much sharper in the opening game as senior Dylan DeBoer (11 kills) was very effective as an outside hitter against the Bears' defenders.
Leading 24-22, the Cougars clinched the set 1 victory when junior Jared Bennett (7 assists, 5 kills) spiked home the ball on an assist by senior teammate Cory Levin (10 assists).
Carmody got great offensive support from junior teammate Nick Meyer (8 kills) and Amos (6 kills, 5 blocks) in the second and third games while sophomore Jeff Carmody was very steady with 30 assists for Lake Zurich.
Matt Carmody pointed to quite a few areas that led to the Bears' ultimately defeating their long-time nemesis.
"We did really good serving so it was easier to make runs, and we played better defense," said Carmody, whose team will host Waukegan in regional play at noon Monday. "It was also senior night so we were pretty riled up, and if we play consistently we can do well in regionals."
There was a controversial play in the third set as it appeared that a Lake Zurich player reached over the net to get the point for a 13-7 advantage. But despite a timeout and a protest by Curry, the referees decided the call would stand and the Cougars never got closer than 1 point the rest of the way.
Ravenscraft was very happy with the overall play of her team and their ability to finally get over the hump against Vernon Hills.
"We had four missed serves in the first game," she said. "I would say the blocking and hitting was more consistent and aggressive in the second and third games.
"Matt (Carmody) has been our No. 1 outside hitter the past three years, and as a senior he is confident and he trusts himself. Nate (Amos) gets easily energized by a block kill and when he gets one it usually comes in strings."