Antioch, Libertyville ready to meet
The Antioch volleyball team shared the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division title the past two years.
This season, the Sequoits took the tiebreakers out of the equation.
Antioch (24-5) went a perfect 6-0 in the Prairie and will play host to Lake Division champion Libertyville at 7 p.m. today in the NSC championship match.
"One of our goals was to win the division, but I don't know if we expected to go undefeated," first-year Antioch coach Glen Heitman said. "There's a lot of pride in that."
Libertyville (22-6) secured the Lake title by defeating Stevenson in three games last Wednesday to finish 5-1 in the Lake. This is Libertyville's first appearance in the conference title match since 2003.
"This is one of the goals that we have not accomplished in several years," coach Chris Trzyna said. "This is a huge part of our season."
Antioch defeated Libertyville in two games in the Stevenson Invitational. Libertyville was struggling at the time and did not have its full roster because of ACT testing.
As usual, Antioch will focus on what it can directly control.
"I don't scout other teams a lot," Heitman said. "I worry about our side of the court and what we need to do to be successful."
Early in the season, that meant spending a lot of time with senior setter Melissa Ori. Ori concentrates on softball in the spring and summer and does not play club volleyball.
How quickly she became comfortable in Antioch's 5-1 offense would go a long way toward determining how successful the Sequoits would be this season.
"I felt pressure coming in, but it has been easier as the season progresses," Ori said. "I can rely on all the hitters."
Ori loves to set senior Megan Toczek in the middle, and senior Katie Lonergan is tough to stop at outside hitter.
Libertyville boasts setter Erin DeMarco and has a rising star in junior Emma Mach. In her first year on the varsity, Mach has developed into one of the area's most productive outside hitters.
"She's emerged as a junior," Trzyna said. "She knows we have a lot of faith in her to get the job done, and she has gained confidence in her ability."