Stevenson KO's Libertyville
Stevenson senior Jenna Przybyla is a three-year varsity setter but showed some rare power Tuesday night.
And her effort helped power the Patriots to an upset of the top seed in the Class 4A Warren sectional.
The 5-foot-6 Przybyla recorded 4 kills to help No. 4 Stevenson knock off No. 1 Libertyville 25-23, 19-25, 25-13 and avenge a pair of regular-season losses.
Stevenson (30-8) will play Lake Zurich (26-7) for the sectional title at 7 p.m. Thursday.
As for Przybyla's 4 kills?
“I call it a dump shot in which I just try to put the ball where the opponents aren't,” said Przybyla, who also dished out 13 assists on 38-of-39 setting. “In the third game, we just tried our best to pass the ball and set up our shots.”
Przybyla also served 13 of 13 with 2 aces and added 12 digs.
Stevenson led Game 1 18-14, but Libertyville kept chipping away until Catie Steffen's kill gave the Wildcats a 22-21 lead.
Stevenson trailed 23-22, but got back-to-back kills by Carlee Berland (8 kills), before Kierstyn Hanson (6 kills) slammed the winner.
In the second game, the two teams stayed even until Libertyville junior Kerry Risley buried a kill and Steffen did likewise with a swipe, putting the Wildcats in front for good.
In the third game, Stevenson started out with five straight points and never looked back.
“We came out ready to play the first game,” Stevenson coach Tim Crow said. “Libertyville is a great team and they tried to come back on us, but we managed to pull it out.
“In the second game, we struggled with our communications and Libertyville outplayed us. In the third game, we just got the momentum and never looked back.”
Libertyville finished its season at 35-3.
“Our passing went away in the third game,” Libertyville coach Greg Loika said. “We can't pass the way we did and have any success. Risley and Steffen did a great job and attacked in the middle quite a bit. I felt that had we passed a better, we would be in a different position.”
Stevenson's Shefali Arora added 5 kills and Rachel Baader contributed four. Baader also served 7 of 8 with an ace, while Carolyn McDonough served 9 of 9 with an ace. Nicole Duszczyk led the Patriots with 23 digs.