Confident LZ eliminates Z-B
Two of the best female junior volleyball players around — Lake Zurich middle blocker Layne Self and Libertyville setter Cindy Zhou — were talking to each other on the court following Tuesday night’s Class 4A regional semifinal matches at Libertyville.
There were no snarls exchanged, however.
No stare-downs between the two 6-footers.
Just smiles between two friends.
“Yep, we’re going to beat them,” Self said a laugh.
Rest assured, it will be all business come Thursday’s 6 p.m. regional final.
With the 6-foot-1 Self posting 7 kills and 3 blocks, fifth-seeded Lake Zurich defeated No. 12 Zion-Benton 25-12, 25-12 to earn a rematch with Libertyville, which is seeded fourth in the Buffalo Grove sectional.
Libertyville outlasted Lake Zurich 25-8, 23-25, 25-22 when the teams met in their North Suburban Lake Division match Oct. 4.
“That was the match we turned it around,” Lake Zurich coach Matt Aiello said after his improved squad hiked its record to 25-11. “We saw some things in our defense. We saw some things in our serve-receive. Even within the match, we saw a lot of things. I wrote down a lot of ideas. From that point, we’ve been playing really good volleyball — maybe our best in a few years.”
Lake Zurich’s defense against Zion-Benton epitomized the Bears’ effort the last three weeks.
Amelia Leng recorded 6 blocks, in addition to 6 kills. Both Self and Kristen Walding had 3 blocks apiece, and Amanda Orchard (4 kills) contributed 2 blocks and 15 digs for the Bears.
“I think we’re getting a lot better at (defense),” said Self, who ended both sets with aces. “Before, we always struggled with our first touch. We’ve always had good hitters. We’re playing as a team more, and our blocking definitely has improved.”
Lake Zurich was a two-set winner over Zion-Benton during the regular season. The Bears grabbed early leads in both sets Tuesday and were never seriously threatened.
“They have nice hitters,” Aiello said of the Zee-Bees. “If they get into a rhythm offensively, they’re a tough team. It’s not the type of team you want to let hang around.”
Walding lofted 20 assists for Lake Zurich, which committed only 6 passing errors. Mallory Parsons chipped in 4 kills.
“Our commitment the last month and a half has been passing the ball,” Aiello said. “Pass the ball, and we can do anything we want.
“The last few weeks we’ve kind of found our rhythm, found our speed, found the right schemes. Nothing has been easy about this season. We’ve been working really hard, and we are playing our best volleyball right now. But we got to show up on Thursday.”