LZ outlasts Warren in 3
Mallory Parsons and Layne Self led the way for Lake Zurich’s girls volleyball team, as the Bears outlasted visiting Warren 25-16, 24-26, 25-12 in their North Suburban Lake Division opener Tuesday night.
Parsons had 10 kills, 4 aces and 8 digs, while Self rang up 8 kills, 5 aces and 7 digs.
Lake Zurich (5-4) also got contributions from Sydney Glover (3 kills, 2 aces), Nicole Morrissey (2 blocks), Kristen Walding (6 kills), Kiley McPeek (3 aces, 17 digs), Allie McIlwain (8 digs, 2 aces) and Mickenzie Andrews (5 kills).
Stevenson d. Zion-Benton: Jenna Radtke and Liza Pflugradt hammered 8 and 7 kills, respectively, as the host Patriots won 25-11, 25-10 in their North Suburban Lake Division opener.
Stevenson (9-0) also received 3 aces apiece from Radtke and Alexa Bykowski. Bykowski and Anne Geocaris each lofted 12 assists. Radtke tallied 2 solo blocks, as well, while Khailia Donaldson chipped in 5 kills. Geocaris had 4 kills.
Vernon Hills d. Round Lake: Jenn Claussen pounded 10 kills and added a pair of blocks, and fellow senior Shannon Nugent had 7 kills, as the Cougars won 25-19, 25-20 in the North Suburban Prairie Division opener.
Sophomore middle hitter Katie Brettman added 3 kills and 2 blocks for Vernon Hills (4-5).
“We’re still improving some aspects of our game, but it was nice to see our seniors step up and finish the match,” Cougars coach Abbie Gutzmer said. “Shannon and Jenn both had good all-around games, and that is starting to pay off for us.”
Grant d. North Chicago: Brooke Buckley’s 6 kills on 8-of-8 hitting led the Bulldogs’ in their 25-5, 25-7 win in North Suburban Prairie action.
Alissa Mathis served 6 of 7 with 3 aces, while Ashley Mathis was 6-of-6 serving with 2 aces. Taylor Rossi set 10 of 10 with 4 assists for Grant.
Libertyville d. Glenbrook North: Strong net play and a balanced attack led the Wildcats to a 25-18, 25-23 nonconference win.
Cindy Zhou had 6 kills, 14 assists and 8 digs to lead Libertyville, while Kristen Webb added 11 digs. Taylor Zant rang up 4 kills and 4 blocks, Julia Smagacz slammed 5 kills, and Alex Basler contributed 5 blocks and 3 kills.
Mundelein d. Lake Forest: The Mustangs won the North Suburban Lake opener 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, as Yasmeen Johnson had 6 kills and 3 blocks.
Mundelein (4-7) got another solid all-around effort from Madi Wilcox, who posted 4 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces and 22 assists. Sarah Bregenzer and Ashley Dolin (3 blocks) added 3 kills apiece.
Grayslake Central d. Hampshire: Alexandria Dahlstrom delivered 10 kills for the Rams, who rallied for a 17-25, 25-20, 25-17 win in their Fox Valley Fox opener.
Gabi Casper added 3 kills, 3 aces and 9 digs for Grayslake Central (5-3), and Meghan Brewster served 5 aces, dished out 20 assists and recorded 8 digs.
“We got off to a slow start, but our team came together and rose up to the challenge that Hampshire threw at us,” Rams coach Jason Janczak said. “Our defense really stepped up in Games 2 and 3, and our offense started clicking.”
Jacobs d. Grayslake North: The Knights lost the Fox Valley crossover in two sets, despite 3 kills and 2 blocks from Kelsey Klausner.
Lisa Lowry lofted 8 assists for Grayslake North (2-5).