Zealous Libertyville handle Warren

A Zant kill.

A Zhou block.

A Zhou assist.

A Zhou swat.

Nothing like a few Z’s to refreshen a team.

“I think we were a little bit nervous before the game and it got to us,” Libertyville junior setter Cindy Zhou said. “Once we got into the game and rolling, the pressure was off, and then we played really well.”

Zhou’s effort — 4 kills, 2 blocks, 17 assists — helped Libertyville shake pesky Warren 25-22, 25-11 in the teams’ Class 4A regional semifinal at Libertyville on Tuesday night.

Libertyville (28-8), which beat Warren in two sets during the regular season, advances to Thursday’s 6 p.m. regional final against Lake Zurich (25-11), which handled Zion-Benton 25-12, 25-12 in the evening’s second semifinal.

Taylor Zant slammed 5 kills for Libertyville. Zhou, who is verbally committed to Michigan, Julia Smagacz and Kerry Risley had 4 kills each. Ali Gattone added three for the Wildcats.

“Warren came out strong,” Libertyville coach Greg Loika said. “They came out a lot crisper than the first time we saw them. We knew they would. Our passing was a little tight, but (Warren) was certainly doing some things that made us work hard.”

Warren (15-17) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, but Libertyville pulled even on a Zant kill. Zhou’s block broke the tie.

Then following a Warren timeout, Rhiannon Prentiss finished an attack off a set from Zhou. When Zhou swatted a ball for another kill, the home team’s lead was 12-9.

But back came the Blue Devils, with Libby Perrone’s second ace tying the score at 17-17. Paige Jespersen’s ace got Warren even again, at 19-19, before the Wildcats took advantage of some unforced Warren errors and another kill by Zant to pull out the opening set.

“We came out strong the first game,” Warren coach Julie Filippo said. “We knew what to expect. The kids played well. We just didn’t pass well the second game, and that’s basically been part of our problem this year. When we pass well, we play well.”

A kill by Warren’s Rachel Ziegler squared up the second set at 5-5, but Eileen Knauff’s 3 aces helped Libertyville open up a 13-5 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Risley ended it.

“I think we did a good job of seeing the blocks and hitting around them,” Zhou said, “and just running a good offense and being smart with our shots.”

Jespersen and Jaime Dickinson had 5 and 4 kills, respectively, for Warren. Perrone set 26 of 26 with 8 assists, while also recording 4 blocks, 3 aces and 2 blocks. Kendall Farmer had 3 kills for the Blue Devils.

“They came out and did their best,” Filippo said of her players. “We were the underdog, and the better team won.”