Behrendt, Lakes win county battle
Meghan Behrendt pounded 9 kills and added 9 digs, as Lakes' girls volleyball team defeated Carmel Catholic 25-17, 27-25 in a nonconference battle between perennial Lake County powers Thursday night.
McKenna Lahr tallied 6 kills, 5 digs and 2 aces for Lakes, while Maddie Demo had 23 assists and 8 digs. The Eagles' other contributors included Izzy Huntington (4 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs), Katie Billetdeaux (3 kills, 3 blocks) and Kaylee Lebron (1 kill, 1 ace, 4 blocks).
Carmel (2-2) built an early lead in the first set, but Lakes battled back and put together a late run with some strong hitting from its pin hitters, Corsairs coach David Pazely said.
"Their pressure combined with some untimely errors made the momentum shift to Lakes' side of the net, and they cruised to a win in the first," Pazely said. "We didn't get that momentum back until late in the second set."
Carmel fought back to take a late lead and served for set point at 24-23, but Lakes made one last push and scored a 4-1 run to end the match.
Taylor Luhr had 8 kills for Carmel, and Grace Butler dished out 19 assists. Elizabeth Tworek tallied 16 digs.
"We learned a lot about our character and willingness to fight," Pazely said. "But we need to improve our consistency in order to compete against quality teams like Lakes."
Libertyville d. Buffalo Grove: The Wildcats stayed hot, winning 25-22, 29-27 to improve to 8-1.
With his team "ravaged by injury and illness" for the past week, Libertyville coach Greg Loika said he suited up seven healthy varsity players and three JV players.
"With four players in new positions, (we) won with strong defense and a formidable block," Loika said.
Erin Dunleavy had 8 kills and 6 assists for the Wildcats. Libertyville received 5 kills apiece from Hannah Zerwas and Caroline Frea. Allison Watson delivered 12 assists and also had 2 kills and 3 blocks. Morgan OBrien tallied 16 digs, while Haley Stevenson had 5 blocks. Ashley Kroc (7 digs, 2 aces) and Morgan DeGregor (5 digs, 1 ace) also contributed to the victory.
Stevenson d. Glenbrook South: The Patriots won 25-11, 25-16, improving to 8-1, as Jori Radtke pounded 7 kills.
Isabella Milejczyk added 5 kills and 2 aces for Stevenson, and Morgan Berland had 4 aces and 9 digs. Chloe Robinson served 3 aces, while Corissa Kurth recorded 13 assists and 2 solo blocks.