Boys volleyball: McDonald, Vernon Hills ace out Lake Forest
Johnny McDonald had 9 kills and 4 aces on 12-of-12 serving, and Vernon Hills' boys volleyball team beat Lake Forest 25-19, 25-23 in its North Suburban Conference finale on Wednesday night.
Vernon Hills (20-16, 9-2) finished in a tie for second place in the NSC in its last trip through the conference. In 16 years, the Cougars won 7 conference titles and finished second four times.
"North Suburban volleyball is so great because you get tough matches all season long," Vernon Hills coach Chris Curry said. "We're excited about the chance to play in the (Central Suburban League), but leaving the NSC is pretty bittersweet for boys volleyball."
The match also marked the final NSC competition in any level for any sport at VHHS.
"Tonight we played an entire match the way we've played parts of matches for six weeks," Curry said. "We've won the first set in 10 of our last 12 matches, but lost four of those. We've struggled to maintain focus and energy. But not tonight. In the second set, we let Lake Forest put multiple points together only two times, and that made the difference. They're going to get their kills with all those big hitters. You just have to minimize the runs."
McDonald served 12 of 12.
"Best of all, he led us in enthusiasm," Curry said. "He was back to being the guy he was when he was carrying us early in the season."
Matt Kushnir added 4 kills (no errors), 1 ace and 5 digs. Jared Bennett had 7 kills and 2 aces, and Jake Fiarito set 50 of 51 with 26 assists. Drake DeBoer had a team-best 8 digs.
"Fiarito made great setting decisions, and the middles (Chris Winter and Derrick Jones) were solid and active," Curry said.
Libertyville d. Lake Zurich: The Wildcats won 25-19, 25-19 on senior night, as Jack Stevens had 8 kills, 5 digs and 4 aces in the North Suburban match.
The Wildcats (24-10) also got 6 kills and 2 blocks from Matt Franza and 6 kills, 5 digs and 2 aces from Nick Zoellick. The other senior contributors included Carl Heard and Tanner Dorow (4 digs, 1 ace.)
"Given the opportunity, our seniors stepped up and performed," Libertyville coach Jenny Smith said. "A good win over a very tough team going into postseason."
Stevenson d. Antioch: Grant Maleski pounded 19 kills, Justin Leonard added 17, and the Patriots won the North Suburban finale 25-19, 23-25, 25-19.
Jeffrey Wang dished out 32 assists for Stevenson (16-17).
Warren d. Mundelein: Zach Schultz and Mihjlo Gomez had 8 and 7 kills, respectively, for the Blue Devils in their 25-15, 25-7 win in North Suburban action.
Warren (17-17, 7-3) also received 5 aces from Danny Johnson and three from Gomez. Johnson had 4 kills, as well. Gomez and Schultz had 4 and 3 blocks, respectively, and Aaron Wagan dished out 18 assists.
Abram Nazario had 5 kills for Mundelein (5-29, 1-10).