Girls volleyball: Lake Zurich clinches NSC against improving Libertyville

Here's a friendly warning for the girls volleyball postseason: That club with the losing record might be a dangerous foe.

Libertyville might be young, but with every match the Wildcats get a little bit better.

On Wednesday night, they faced the lone unbeaten squad in the North Suburban Conference. Lake Zurich clearly has some players to watch, including Katie Guy, Jocelyn Leng, McKenna Zobel and Claudia Kieda.

Lake Zurich prevailed 25-21, 26-24 to clinch the NSC championship, but its opponent impressed.

Libertyville (9-14) knotted Set 1 at 13-13. However, on a block kill from Kieda, the Bears prevailed. Set 2 was closer than that. On back-to-back serving aces from Libertyville's Madison O'Brien, the Cats took an 18-17 lead. That's when Lake Zurich setter Kelly Bush took over the match. No, it wasn't her 15 assists that did it. But rather those 5 serving aces.

“I've been working on my serve,” Bush said after Lake Zurich improved to 13-9 and 6-0 in the NSC. “I try to be aggressive with it.”

The match started with both sides missing serves early.

“That first set was ours to win,” Libertyville coach Greg Loika said. “It was a much cleaner game in the second set.”

There were several lead changes in the opening set.

“We were highly motivated to play Libertyville,” said coach Rachel Wiatrowski, whose Bears wrap up conference play at Mundelein next Wednesday. “It's always a good challenge for us.”

The serving improved on both sides as the first set continued on. Kieda and Leng both registered aces, as the Bears expanded their lead to 21-18. With Libertyville's Jenna Silverman on the serving line, an ace and a kill from setter Kailey Christianson pulled the Wildcats closer.

Bush's serving provided a spark again, however. She served 2 aces, as the Lake Zurich's lead expanded to 12-8.

“Kelly's serves were clutch,” Wiatrowski said.

Again, the Wildcats did not fade away. With freshman Kellie Hopper serving, the visitors pulled even on block kills from Amanda Reinhart and O'Brien, knotting the score at 15-15.

Both teams were missing setters to open the match. Both Peyton O'Brien (Libertyville) and Kylie Dykgraaf (Lake Zurich) were both sitting because of injuries.

“It made it a little bit harder,” Bush said. “But we pushed through.”

Libertyville is the 13th seed in the sectional and will take a trip to Cary-Grove for regional play.

“We don't fear anyone in our conference,” Loika said. “We still need to put the final nail in so we can win.”

On this night, the final nail came from the serve of Bush.

Kieda paced a balanced Lake Zurich attack with 7 kills. Guy added 6 kills, and Leng checked in with four.

“Jocelyn is a middle and is having a really great season,” Wiatrowski said of Leng. “She's very involved in our offense.”

Bridget Huels delivered 9 assists for Lake Zurich.

Libertyville also had a balanced attack. O'Brien had 5 kills, Hopper added four, and senior outside Anna Valente checked in with 3 kills. Busy libero Morgan DeGregor had 24 digs, and Christianson notched 11 assists.