Wildcats' defense sparkles

Libertyville girls volleyball coach Chris Trzyna loved what she saw from her team in preseason practices. Of course, Trzyna said she would temper her enthusiasm until seeing her team in action.

If anything, Libertyville's performance against visiting Hersey on Tuesday will make her even more optimistic. The Wildcats played near-perfect defense in a 27-25, 25-16, season-opening victory.

"There was (a lot) to smile about," Trzyna said.

And that led to a lot of frustration for Hersey.

"They dug the heck out of the ball," Hersey coach Nancy Lill said. "There were a couple of times where I thought the ball was down and they dug it up. Libertyville came ready to play, and we were all over the place."

The best example of Libertyville's refusal to concede a point came in the second game. Senior setter Erin DeMarco was able to dig a ball that bounced off the ceiling, and then the Wildcats passed the ball over the net. They wound up winning the point and extending their lead to 15-11 on a kill by junior Maka Stewart.

"We go after every ball, and I was in the right place at the right time," DeMarco said. "Our defense has been great since day one."

DeMarco did a little bit of everything for the Wildcats, contributing 18 assists and 5 service points. Excellent passing helped DeMarco and the offense click.

"Our serve-receive was unstoppable," said senior libero Emma Melendez, who was 16 for 16 in that crucial category. "That was a great way to start off the year."

Senior middle blocker Ali Haws made her biggest contribution at the service line. She served 7 points and had 3 aces. Melendez closed out the match with consecutive kills.

Junior Emma Mach had a team-high 6 kills. Senior Amber Bryant and Stewart had 4 and 3 kills, respectively.

Hersey senior Lauren Dembkowski accumulated team highs in kills (5) and digs (10).

"Our passing and setting was off," Lill said. "It's going to take us awhile, but I'm excited about this team."