Corsairs earn their just desserts

During lunch Saturday at the Libertyville Invitational, the Carmel volleyball team enjoyed sandwiches and a well-deserved rest.

What was for dessert?

Brownies and cookies, but only if the Corsairs won their next two matches.

"That was a motivator," senior Josh Garwood said with a smile.

The Corsairs did not lose any intensity in the afternoon. They dispatched Oak Forest in two games and followed that by topping Maine East 25-21, 25-19 in the championship match.

This was the first tournament title of the season for Carmel. After losing to Stevenson midway through the Lake County Invitational on April 12, the Corsairs have strung together 9 consecutive victories.

"What a corner we've turned since then," said Corsairs coach Kevin Nylen. "This is as close to (total) team volleyball as we can possibly play. It was outstanding."

Carmel's Joe Sponseller, Garwood and Zach Engels were selected to the all-tournament team. Libertyville was represented by Chris Risley and Tom Hannum.

Libertyville went 2-3 in tourney play, but the Wildcats did capture the 300th victory in program history.

The Corsairs began pool play in the eight-team tournament with a 25-12, 25-17 victory over Hoffman Estates. The next match was more challenging, but the Corsairs held off Rolling Meadows 25-23, 25-20.

"We had to fight to win in two games," Nylen said. "Rolling Meadows was incredibly scrappy."

Maine South extended Carmel to three games in the last match of the morning. After a convincing 25-13 win in the opener, the Corsairs fell behind 10-1 in the second game and lost 25-23. The third game (15-8) was all Carmel.

In the title match, Garwood was tough to stop. In addition to a team-high 8 kills, his jump serve (3 aces) was extremely effective.

"He's (become) a lot more consistent with it," Nylen said. "That's a huge weapon for us."

Sponseller (7 kills) and Engels (4 kills) also figured prominently in Carmel's attack. Setters Mike Dietrich and Mike Geske each had 11 assists.

"Zach (Engels) played some great defense and had some (key) kills."

Engels said the Corsairs were primed for a big performance.

"We were looking to make a statement," he said. "We decided to put everything we had into this tournament. There was no way we were going home with anything less than first place."

Risley and Hannum were Libertyville's most consistent performers.

"Risley was the best player in a series of matchups throughout the day," Libertyville coach Steve Rochon said. "Tom had some really nice runs at the service line. He's really turned himself into a fine outside hitter."