Girls volleyball: Lill surpasses 900 wins at Hersey

Hersey girls volleyball coach Nancy Lill joined an elite community when she won her 900th match on Saturday.

Only six other coaches, led by recently retired Peg Kopec of Wheaton St. Francis (1,248 wins), have won that many girls matches in IHSA history.

And Lill knows all about exclusive communities.

That's what she has developed at Hersey in her 29 seasons.

"She is a coach who has done a great job making this a community at Hersey," said Huskies senior setter Maggie Reisel, who had 92 assists on Saturday as Hersey swept all five matches to win its own invite.

"If you look closely at her girls and boys teams (more than 400 more wins in that program), you see how everyone is really good friends. And she sets that tone.

"No matter the cast of characters over the years, she has done a great job keeping us all as a family."

And that goes for her coaching staff, which has more than 60 years of experience combined from Jodi Blazek (21 years), Bob Brown (18), Amy Ohrt (17) and Ben Chin (13). Blazek and Brown were standout players in Lill's programs in the 1990s.

It didn't even take long for a freshman to realize the impact Lill has made on Hersey volleyball.

"She is awesome," said Kati Kaburov, who was still at Thomas Middle in Arlington Heights just five months ago. "She is so compassionate about what she does all the time and she wants to make us the best she can."

She has made Hersey a volleyball power since being hired to direct the program by Ann Penstone in 1988.

The Huskies since have won 10 conference titles and 18 division crowns, including the last 13.

The records, including six trips to the state finals and three trophies (second, third and fourth place), are endless.

"It might be on my record but it's a lot of people involved in that record," Lill said. "It's never been about the numbers for me. It's more about the kids."

The former Riverside-Brookfield and University of Illinois standout likes to remember all the great athletes and coaches she has worked with over the years.

"It's really fun to reflect on all those things" said Lill, who owns a 903-281-5 in 32 seasons (three at Wheeling from 1983 to 1985). "And I am still having fun. I still love it. I've been doing it a long time but I don't look at that.

"I just take it each year as a new group. As long as we're having fun and challenging the athletes, that's what it's all about."

Lill liked the direction her team took on Saturday, as Hersey won all five matches in two sets.

"This tournament was big for us," she said. "We needed to get on a roll."

The Huskies are now 12-4 heading into a nonconference match on Monday against highly-regarded Stevenson (16-1).

They will be led by a coach with 903 career wins.

But Lill also passes the credit to others.

"You look at our program and see all the support we've had here," she said. "We've had such stability with our whole staff. We are a real team. We work as a staff."

Working hard on attack for the Huskies on Saturday were Zoe Strozewski (29 kills), Kaburov (26), Amy Morgan (19), Sammi Steger (18), Reisel (11) and Mary Clare O'Shea (9).

Liz Solans led in the back row with 73 digs followed by Julia Coniglio (43), Reisel (32) and Morgan (31).

Strozewski collected 8 blocks followed by Steger (6) and Morgan (5) while Coniglio served 7 aces and Steger 6.

Lill's milestone win came in the 25-11, 25-15 win over Glenbard North in the second round.

Hersey Assistant Principal for Student Activities John Novak gave a congratulatory recognition speech for Lill following the historic match and a game ball to be signed to all the players.

"The time she puts in with summer camps and leagues is great," said Brown, who was the Mid-Suburban East Player of the Year when he played on Lill's boys team in 1993. She has put in so much time developing kids to work hard."

Saxons retiring coach Jeanette Pancratz has done the same in her career which has seen more than 800 triumphs.

Her Saxons (8-8) took third place on Saturday with a 3-2 record, falling only to Jones (the runner-up at 4-1) and Hersey.

Setter Jordyn Harberts handed out 84 assists in the five matches while top attackers were Morgan Sterrett (34 kills), Mallory Gerber (28) and Julia Spitelli (18), who led the team with 8 blocks.

Gabby Paelmo collected 51 digs while Michaela Encarncion turned in 37.

"Throughout the day we did a good job picking up our energy and playing defense," said Gerber, who also had 31 passes, 28 digs and served 3 aces. "Those were things we wanted to improve on and I think it showed in this tournament."

"As a team, we made strides in our game," Pancratz said. "That was one of the positives to come out of this tournament."

Hoffman Estates (0-5 in the tourney) was led on attack by Natalie Pethes (14 kills), Monraia Wilson (5), Hanna Saurbier (4), Janiah Fowler (4), Patricia Wadas (3), Ashley Poland 11-15 (2 kills) and Jessica Jurezicz (2).

Poland served 4 aces while juniors Callie Meese (14 assists) and Kathleen Gueco (20 assists) were the primary setters.