Libertyville tops VH for NSC crown
Their game on the court needing little fine-tuning, Libertyville's volleyball girls cranked a fine tune upon their arrival for Wednesday night's North Suburban Conference championship match.
“We were getting pumped up and we played (the music mix) and made a dance,” junior middle hitter Kerry Risley said. “We got here two hours early so we had plenty of time.”
Libertyville then went out and cranked, beating visiting Vernon Hills 25-7, 25-20 for its first NSC title since 2007.
The performance called for a victory dance. After match, the Wildcats played their new favorite dance mix so loud that coach Greg Loika asked reporters if they wanted to step outside to the hallway, where it wasn't so loud.
“It's quite silly,” a smiling Loika of his players' dance. “But they love it.”
They love playing volleyball, too, apparently. Libertyville improved to 29-1, while cooling off Vernon Hills (16-14), which had won its previous eight matches.
Risley started the match with a kill, and then Catie Steffen served for eight straight points and a 9-0 advantage.
“I was thrilled (with the start),” Loika said. “We wanted to pass well and push the ball to our middles.”
Risley, who stands nearly 5 feet and 11 inches, took full advantage of pinpoint sets from Cindy Zhou. Risley's 4 kills and 1 block helped stake the NSC Lake Division champs to its early lead.
“Cindy,” Risley said, “she's the best.”
Risley had her best match, finishing with a season-high 8 kills.
“She was on fire,” Loika said. “Even in Game 2, when we were able to get her the ball, it was going down. But we didn't pass quite as well, and (Vernon Hills) served tough.”
“We've been working in practice on pushing the middle more,” Risley said.
Vernon Hills' starting lineup included three sophomores and three juniors. Despite that, the winners of the NSC Prairie Division had won 12 of their last 15 matches.
“We talked a lot coming into this game about not putting any pressure on ourselves,” Vernon Hills coach Abbie Guzmer said. “We're mostly sophomores and juniors so it's to be expected that they'd be a little bit nervous. I don't think they knew what to expect. Once we settled down a little bit and started playing our kind of game, it was a much different result.”
Vernon Hills led most of Game 2 and was up 18-16 before a couple of unforced errors pulled Libertyville even. The Cougars got within 21-20, but back-to-back kills by Risley and Paige Hopper (5 kills) kept the visitors at bay.
Cari Steffen, who had 6 kills, delivered an ace to end the match.
“Libertyville is a great squad,” Gutzmer said. “They just were all over the place. Whatever we threw at them, they were able to pick up.”
Sophomores Shannon Nugent and Jenn Claussen led Vernon Hills with 4 and 3 kills, respectively. Sophomore Jasmine Tamalunas served 2 aces and set 26 of 28. Junior Sarah Lehman lofted 6 assists on 20-of-21 setting.
Kristen Webb led Libertyville in digs 10, and her back-to-back aces ended Game 1.
“I'm really happy for our program,” Loika said. “Our crowds have increased, so they're coming out to see some good volleyball.”