Cats' attack too much for Cougars
The Libertyville girls volleyball team took a clinical approach to Thursday's Class 4A sectional semifinal against Conant at Buffalo Grove.
The Wildcats were efficient in all aspects of play. They often were content to keep points alive and let Conant make the mistakes.
The result was a convincing 25-15, 25-17 victory over the Cougars.
Libertyville went on to win its second consecutive sectional title later that night by defeating Schaumburg 25-22, 11-25, 25-19.
Wildcats coach Chris Trzyna liked the way her team (33-6) attacked Conant.
"We were able to put the balls in the areas they were giving us," she said.
The Wildcats were able to run a great deal of offense through their middles, as seniors Ali Haws and Lexie Gibbons had 9 and 6 kills, respectively.
Conant senior Michelle Kopecky had a team-high 8 kills.
"We always had to know where she was on the court," Trzyna said.
Other than the play of Kopecky, there were very few bright spots for Conant. The Cougars, the No. 6 seed, finished the season with a 22-15 record.
"We were out of synch and we never got in the flow of the match," Conant coach Peggy Scholten said. "We made too many unforced errors."
Conant's best stretch of play came early in the second game. The Cougars led 8-5 and the Wildcats did not take their first lead until 10-9. From there, Libertyville controlled the rest of the game. Gibbons supplied the exclamation point with a powerful block that increased the Wildcats' advantage to 21-13.
Conant junior Tricia Kutrumanes finished with 16 assists.
Although the Cougars will lose Kopecky to graduation, they return the majority of players who played key roles in their regional title.
"We didn't play at the level we played at the last two weeks, but we're still young," Scholten said. "We'll focus on a great regional win and bring that into next season."
Haws said the Wildcats played with a sense of purpose throughout.
"This is what we had been working for," she said. "We didn't want our season to end."