Libertyville’s putting it all together

It must have been pure instinct.

Libertyville libero Stew Zacher had just taken a body blow on Wednesday night and somehow managed to pass the ball to a stunned Tyler Erlandson.

“I just shot it at him,” Zacher said. “And we won the point.”

The Libertyville defense is improving, and there are some fearsome hitters in new coach Casey Aubin’s lineup. The team’s 13th win of the season came in impressive style as the Wildcats stopped neighbor Mundelein 25-17, 25-15.

“We’ve been practicing our defense since the beginning of the season,” Zacher said. “We are getting more touches on the ball.”

Maybe some fans passed on Libertyville when star hitter Matt Tassler was lost to a knee injury early in the season. But the Wildcats look ready to make some noise in the North Suburban Conference.

“Libertyville was full of energy,’’ said Mundelein coach George Dressen. “They had their fans supporting them and they were loose.”

Mundelein (11-12) never led in either game but was clearly more competitive in the first game. On a kill from Corey Flores (4 kills), the Mustangs pulled within 10-9. A David Everding serving ace cut the Libertyville lead to 19-17 before Libertyville’s Brandon Leatherwood served five straight points to win the game for the Wildcats.

“This is really a good group of friends,” Aubin said. “We have so much depth, even losing Tassler.”

Aubin is high on his blocking tandem of Stefan Vidovich and Rob St. Claire.

“That one-two punch is one of the best in the state,” he said. “A lot of teams have one good blocker while we have two.”

Game 2 was one-sided. Talented setter Teddy Kopacz opened the serving with a pair of aces. Vidovich had a pair of block kills. Erlandson added a kill as the Wildcats opened up a 6-0 lead.

The lead jumped to 9-3 on kills from Leatherwood and Griffin Rush. In just two games, setter Kopacz registered 27 assists.

“We are underappreciated,” Zacher said. “We have a lot of offensive weapons.”

Mundelein couldn’t match the Libertyville firepower in Game 2. Only two serving aces from Parker Tortorello slowed down the Wildcats in the second game.

Dressen noted it wasn’t a great time to play Libertyville after the Wildcats stopped area power Vernon Hills last week.

“We were a little flat tonight,” he said. “Plus, we’ll have nine matches this week.”

After blocking the Mustangs and hitting rockets on offense, Libertyville took to dumping the ball late in the second game. Both Vidovich (8 kills) and Erlandson dropped shots in front of the Mundelein defense, and the Libertyville lead was 16-10.

“We got better at passing in the second game,’’ Zacher said.

Leatherwood helped the Libertyville offense with 6 kills and 3 blocks. St. Claire chipped in with 4 blocks. Zacher had 7 digs on the night.

Tortorello led the Mundelein offense with 6 kills. Flores paced the Mundelein defense with 11 digs.