Young Glenbard North tested in defeat

The young Glenbard North girls volleyball team faced a big early season test Monday night at home against Lincoln-Way Central.

While the Panthers had their moments, the Knights, of the Southwest Suburban Conference, won the match 25-19, 25-9.

Lincoln-Way Central improved to 6-1 with its only loss coming last weekend to team champion Marist at the elite Plainfield North Tournament.

"We're a young team, but the leadership is really strong and we wanted to put together a competitive performance against Lincoln-Way Central," said Panthers coach Anne Bremner, whose team stands at 2-1.

Glenbard North battled the Knights throughout Game 1. Lincoln-Way Central led by just 1-2 points with one 3-point advantage as it built a 12-10 lead. A kill by the Panthers' Maddie Vegrzyn, who led her team with 5 kills, gave her team a 5-4 lead, the second and final advantage Glenbard North had in Game 1.

The Knights proceeded to score 6 of the next 8 points to go up 18-12. The Panthers cut the lead to 3 once and 4 points a total of six times before Lincoln-Way Central hit the needed 25th point.

Glenbard North gained valuable experience in making adjustments on the fly when sophomore Maddie Meyers went out in the first game with a sprained ankle.

"In the first match (the Panthers) had to adjust to a whole new lineup. Our serve receive, we just let down in the second game," Bremner said.

The Knights led 5-3 when Lucy Chelsa took over serving and Lincoln-Way Central scored 10 unanswered points, including 3 aces, to break Game 2 open at 15-4. A kill by Daniela Heupel, who finished with 4 for Glenbard North, put the Panthers to with 10. That was as close as the team got to Lincoln-Way Central the rest of the night.

Glenbard North also got 1 ace and 15 assists from Christy Nguyen and 8 digs from Alyssa Torres.

The Panthers resume action Wednesday at Willowbrook and then compete in their first tournament of the season back at Willowbrook on Friday and Saturday. Bremner said it's a good time for her team's initial tournament play.

"We've been able to get in a couple of games before and the tournament will give us an idea of where we stand and the girls will get a lot of reps," she said. "The girls will bounce back (from Monday). They are very resilient and have a lot of energy."