Libertyville rolls to Crosstown acclaim

Libertyville left no doubt as to which girls volleyball team was tops in the 16-team Crosstown Classic.

The Wildcats didn't lose a set in capturing their second straight championship in the tournament.

Cornell-bound Alex Basler led the way for Libertyville (6-0, 5-0 in the tourney) with 25 kills, 7 blocks and 6 aces. Liz Apgar dished out 61 assists, while also totaling 10 kills, 21 digs and 3 blocks. Erin Dunleavy and Hannah Zerwas added 17 and 15 kills, respectively, for the Wildcats, who beat Stevenson 25-15, 25-22 for the championship. Libertyville also received 11 kills and 6 blocks from Annika Hawkinson and 10 kills from Anna Lillydahl. Morgan O'Brien had 49 digs, 8 assists and 5 aces.

Stevenson (4-2, 4-1 tourney) rallied past DeKalb 17-25, 26-24, 26-24 in the semifinals, as Jori Radtke rang up a hefty 16 kills. Radtke had 34 kills in the tournament. Corissa Kurth served 6 aces for the Patriots against DeKalb. In the title match against Libertyville, Radtke and Isabella Milejczyk totaled 5 and 4 kills, respectively.

Grayslake Central finished 2-3 in the tourney, getting 29 kills from Allie Daul and 27 apiece from Hayley Peterson and Taylor O'Neil.

"This was a good warm-up for us," Rams coach Jason Janczak said. "This is a new group of girls playing together, and overall I'm proud of their effort. This weekend showed us what we need to work on to be successful this year."

Mundelein (2-5) also went 2-3 in the tourney. The Mustangs got 25 kills from Yasmeen Johnson and 19 from Sidney Brunkow. Cindy Kokoszka served 8 aces, while Brunkow and Emma Melledy each delivered six. Trina Neukam dished out 65 assists.