Boys volleyball: Objectively, Libertyville sure looks like a champion
For an unbiased view of that 24-1 Libertyville boys volleyball squad, we turn to the 20-year head coach from Deerfield High School.
OK, maybe not completely unbiased. Afterall, the Warriors have 8 losses this season and 3 of those defeats have come from the Wildcats.
"They are fantastic,'' said Deerfield coach Eugene Chung. "They have a great defense. And a lot of hitting options. They put a lot of pressure on you."
Deerfield finished second in the Libertyville Invite held Saturday. And the Warriors (15-8) managed to steal one set off of Libertyville in the process.
The Cats are now 24-1 after winning this eight-team championship.
Augustana-bound setter Ryan Hirschel had a busy day for Libertyville. He registered 124 assists, 31 digs, 9 kills, 8 aces and 8 blocks.
"This is a lot of volleyball in one day but I love to play volleyball,''
Hirschel said.
Six years ago, Hirschel raised his hand to volunteer to play setter. Now he's well established at that position.
In the title game on Saturday afternoon, the Cats gave standout hitter, Jack Stevens, the match off to rest. In his place came football defensive end Brandan Cook (36 kills and 6 blocks).
Cook is also a fan of this spring sport as well. And the senior knows he's playing on a very good squad.
"We feel we can be the best team in the state,'' Cook said. "It's our maturity this year. Last year, we started three sophomores."
Despite both Libertyville and Deerfield resting some of their better players, the title match was played closely.
The first set was knotted at 7-7 before Hirschel hit the serving line. Non-starter Ben Skeens put a ball down and Mark Demaree notched a block and the Cats moved up 15-11. Cook put two balls down to up the lead to 23-18 and Libertyville prevailed 25-18, 25-21.
"I'd say we have the most varsity experience,'' said Libertyville coach Jen Smith. "I know we have a target on our back. This is season four for our libero (Sam Kharasch). And Hirschel has been here for 3½ years."
Deerfield had a few weapons of their own, most obviously the big fellow in the middle, Ryan Kenyon.
"I like where we are at,'' Chung said about his Warriors.
Set two was even closer. There were six ties in the early going. The underdog Warriors trailed just 19-18 late in set two.
The turning point came late. With Ryan Winiger on the serving line, both Hirschel and Shane Feiereisel teamed up for key blocks.
Speaking of Winiger, he sees plenty of playing time but the key defensive role on this team belongs to libero Sam Kharasch (81 digs, 8 assists).
"Ryan would be a starting libero on another team,'' Smith said. "We were able to play different lineups today. We are so deep that we can play so many potential lineups."
Palatine defeated Schaumburg, 25-20, 25-21 which put the Pirates in third place. The final four was: Oak Forest, Prospect, Lake Forest and Elk Grove.
Also helping the champs' cause were Stevens (26 kills, 6 blocks), Demaree (14 kills, 11 blocks), Feiereisel (22 kills, 10 blocks), Drew Fortini (20 kills, 16 digs), Colin Hawkinson (15 kills, 10 digs), Winiger (30 digs, 4 aces), Skeens (5 kills, 4 blocks), Carter Schaffnit (8 digs, 5 assists) and Zach Ford (4 blocks, 3 kills).