Colorful effort in Grayslake Central's victory

Marie Gerbasi had 6 kills and 18 digs, Lauren LaBeck dished out 16 assists and Grayslake Central's girls volleyball team celebrated its "Think Pink" night by defeating visiting Grayslake North 25-23, 25-23 in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division thriller Thursday.

Jaqueline Hamrick added 4 kills for Grayslake Central (13-13, 5-4), while Allie Daul slammed 3 kills and served 2 aces. The Rams also got contributions from Nicole Cave (2 kills), Shermaine Maristela (15 digs, 3 aces), Morgan Anderberg (22 digs, 2 aces) and Cesia Ronning (2 aces).

Grayslake Central lost to Grayslake North in three sets last month.

"We played our hearts out tonight for our 'Think Pink' game (to promote breast cancer awareness) against one of the toughest Grayslake North teams we've seen in a long time," Rams coach Jason Janczak said. "The girls were playing for something bigger than themselves tonight. It was a huge win for us against our crosstown rival. I'm very proud of our girls."

Grayslake North got 3 kills, 18 digs and 4 assists from Kendall Buchman. Sidney Lovitsch and Jenna Pozezinski also had 3 kills each for the Knights, while Taylor Johnston notched 15 digs. Maddy Helm delivered 3 aces and 3 assists, and Abby Fish had a pair of blocks.

"(We) played another exciting match with Central," Grayslake North coach Jim Sarver said. "Both teams played very well."