Loss ends Trzyna's career

It was an emotional night for the host Libertyville girls volleyball team.

First, St. Viator swept the Wildcats 25-18, 25-21 in a Class 4A regional semifinal at Libertyville on Thursday night.

The match also marked the end of an era, as Chris Trzyna saw her 23-year career as head coach of Libertyville end.

"Last year we went to state (finishing fourth), so it's kind of disappointing," Wildcats senior Emma Mach said. "But (St. Viator) did a good job."

St. Viator (18-8) will meet Lake Zurich in the regional final at 2 p.m. Saturday.

In both games, St. Viator scored more than half of its points off tip kills and blocks.

"We came out fighting. We came out hard," Lions coach Charlie Curtin said. "All year we talked about aggressiveness - putting it to the other team's serving, hitting our zones and playing the way we know we're capable of playing."

In the second game, Libertyville (23-13) rallied from a 20-16 deficit to pull even at 21-21, but the Lions scored the final four points.

"We had a couple of hitting errors and passing errors in a row," Curtain said. "Just a little mental breakdown, but we were able to overcome it."

In the first game, St. Viator opened with a 4-0 run and led as much as 8-3. Libertyville chipped away until tying the match at 12-12m, but the Lions scored five straight points to build a 17-12 lead and never looked back.

"We really played hard and we just couldn't get anything connected tonight," Trzyna said. "I'm proud in that we fought right up to the end of the match. We had a great comeback there, but we just couldn't sustain any momentum."

Kelly McConnell led St. Viator with 8 kills. Emily Leazer and Kelly Travaglio added 6 and 5 kills, respectively, while Michelle Warnmont and Christina Brinkman had 4 each. Leazer also had 10 digs.

Brinkman served a perfect 12 of 12 with 2 aces.

For Libertyville, Mach slammed 5 kills, Alanna Connors had 4, and Jenna Hamlin led the Wildcats with 14 digs.

"It's my last time playing," Mach said. "It's hard to go out on a loss, but we know we could have played a lot harder."

As for Trzyna, she leaves with 604 wins and four trips to the state tournament.

"I cannot say anything but what an awesome time I've had as a coach," said Trzyna, who served as an assistant coach for 10 years before getting the head job. "I've had a great place to work at, great kids, great coaching staff, great administration, tremendous school. It's been a ton of fun and I don't know how many coaches can say that with as many years as I have coached."

Wildcats assistant coach Patti Mascia said Trzyna taught her patience.

"That certainly has kept Chris even keel throughout her coaching career," Mascia said. "She's not a screamer, she doesn't go crazy and she says what she needs to say, which is reflective of how her kids are too."

- Irving Solomon

Lake Zurich d. Mundelein: At Libertyville, the Bears advanced to Saturday's 2 p.m. regional final with a 25-20, 25-21 win.

Melissa Miehlke had 9 kills for Lake Zurich (33-3), while Lydia Bauer added 7 kills and 11 assists. Amber Miehlke contributed 4 kills, while Brittany Murawski served 4 aces. Amanda Orchard had 3 blocks.

Mundelein (13-23), which defeated Wheeling 25-12, 25-10 in the play-in game, received 4 kills apiece from Brittany Jones and Megan Barron. Michelle Parssinen added 3 kills and 4 blocks, Heather Wiener pounded 3 kills, and Kelsey Sullivan lofted 12 assists.

Wauconda d. Vernon Hills: At Wauconda, Lauren Mead helped the host Bulldogs survive a scare, as they rallied to beat their North Suburban Prairie Division rival 16-25, 25-23, 25-13.

Mead slammed 10 of her match-high 17 kills in the decisive game, as Wauconda (29-6) advanced to Saturday's 1 p.m. regional final against defending state champ Crystal Lake Central.

Becky Breakfield added 8 kills for Wauconda, while Kristy Waltenburg had 31 assists, 7 digs and 4 aces. Maddie Westman had 2 blocks, Lisa Aguilar chipped in 7 digs and Corinne Feight served 2 aces.

Vernon Hills (22-13) received a strong performance from Rachael Ramsey, who had 10 kills and 4 blocks. Sarah Milligan pounded 4 kills and delivered 3 aces, Anna Christensen set 25 of 25 with 11 assists, Amy Choi recorded 15 digs, Nora Snyder had 4 blocks, and Megan Kubacki served 4 aces.

Barrington d. Carmel: It looked so bleak for Barrington during Thursday's Hersey regional semifinal that even Indiana Jones left early.

OK, it was probably just past the little tyke's bedtime as he stopped by the gym with his dad to watch some volleyball after spending the evening at the Huskies annual Halloween bash.

But if Indy had stayed just a little longer, he would have witnessed a stirring and improbable Filles comeback.

Carmel overpowered Barrington in Game 2 and took a commanding Game 3 lead before the Fillies rallied for a 25-18, 14-25, 25-21 victory.

The Fillies play at Hersey at 4 p.m. Saturday for the regional title.

"You come into the postseason expecting anything," said Barrington coach Chris Bronke, "but you hope you don't get everything. We kept telling the girls to play with pride and passion. That's been our rallying cry all season, and I'm so proud of them tonight. They did that."

According to Carmel coach Bill Szczesniak, it was a problem that plagued the Corsairs all season that led to the Barrington rebound.

"Too many errors," Szczesniak said. "We had 10 errors in the final game. We only had 5 in the second game. That's been a reflection of our season. We always played close games, and when we lost it was because of errors. But we're a young team, we'll keep learning and getting better."

After dropping Game 1, the Corsairs responded with 5 aces in the second game, opening up a 14-4 lead en route to the win.

Junior Stephanie Glogovsky (5 kills, 3 aces) helped lead the Corsairs to a 9-3 advantage in Game 3, but the Fillies fought back and grabbed their first lead at 19-18 when Madison Lang set up junior outside hitter Kit Leitner for a kill.

A final put away from Leitner closed out the match.

Carmel's Sam Salvi recorded 2 aces while Kelly Jazdzewski slammed 4 kills.

Junior outside hitter Emily Harris led the Fillies with 10 kills and 9 digs.

- Bill Esbrook

McHenry d. Grant: At Woodstock, the Bulldogs' season ended with a 25-10, 25-15 loss.

Becca McMullin had 3 kills and 2 solo blocks for Grant. C.J. Hill and Stefanie Cahill added 3 and 2 kills, respectively. Becca White had 6 digs.

Warren d. Prospect: At Warren, Shelby Myers had 5 kills and 2 blocks for the Blue Devils in their 25-11, 25-19 win.

Warren will host Conant in Saturday's 1 p.m. regional final.

Emily Mohapp and Emily Rediger each had 4 kills for Warren, while Lindsay Goad collected 4 blocks, 3 kills and 11 assists. Kerry Eddy had 14 digs.

"The girls played aggressive defense," Blue Devils coach Julie Filippo said. "This allowed our hitters to have success at the net. Lindsay did a great job both setting and blocking."

Stevenson d. Highland Park: At Glenbrook North, Mary Kate Fritzsche had 6 kills, 5 digs and 2 aces for the Patriots in their 25-8, 25-11 win.

Stevenson (28-8), which plays in the regional final at 1 p.m. Saturday, also got 4 kills each from Chelsea Furlan and Annelise Docel. Maria Skillman served 4 aces. Jenna Przbyla and Maggie Lundstrom dished out 8 and 7 assists, respectively.