Lake County girls volleyball notes: Conference races heat up headed toward stretch run

The girls volleyball races in three area conferences — North Suburban, Northern Lake County and Central Suburban South — are starting to take shape.

Stevenson and Warren are both 4-0 in the North Suburban and meet Wednesday in Lincolnshire. “It’s a huge match in regards to the conference race,” said Patriots coach Tim Crow, whose team was 15-10 overall to start the week.

Stevenson went 4-1 recently at the Glenbrook North invitational, which included a 3-set win over 23-6 Rolling Meadows in pool play.

Senior Ava Wysocki (222 kills, .368 hitting), sophomore Ryler Bondad (346 assists) and Lilly Slalej (44 aces) lead the Patriots. “Ava has been playing at a high level,” Crow said. “Ryler has been playing so consistently as of late. Her decision-making and all-around game has been excellent.”

Crow noted Stevenson has 4 sophomores in its rotation.

“We came into the season as a very inexperienced team,” he said. “It has been great to see us improve as the season has progressed. We have slowly been building confidence these past few weeks and are finally understanding what it means to compete at the varsity level.”

Warren update: Warren, geared up for Tuesday’s intense NSC battle on the road at Stevenson, started the week 15-9 and tied with the Patriots at 4-0 in conference action. Lake Zurich started the week a match behind at 3-1 in the loop.

Taylor Coombes and Allison Jiang both earned all-tournament honors recently at Jacobs where the Blue Devils took third.

Seniors Lauren Schilz (165 kills, 32 aces, 160 digs), Jiang (105 kills) and juniors Madelyn Ide (31 aces, 215 digs) and Lyla Christensen (39 aces, 380 setting assists), as well as Coombes (144 digs) have been putting up impressive numbers for Warren.

Assistant coach Kyle Arnold noted Ide and Christensen are playing their first meaningful minutes on varsity this season with Ide making a strong transition from fulltime setter to fulltime libero. Jiang, he said, is a steady presence as a six-rotation player, while Schilz has the highest serve-receive percentage on the team and leads it in kills.

Christensen is in her first season as the varsity starting setter, and is regarded as a strong, vocal leader on the court who makes smart decisions in crucial moments, Arnold noted.

Arnold pointed out Warren has a tough stretch with Stevenson, Lake Zurich and Libertyville left in conference, along with nonconference matches against Carmel, Loyola and Lakes.

“We’re excited to see how we measure up against some of the area’s top teams as we head into regionals,” he said.

Lakes update: In the NLCC, Lakes and Grayslake Central started the week both undefeated. The two teams meet next week.

Lakes was 16-11 overall and beat Antioch in three (27-25 in the finale) in the annual Crosstown Classic match. Senior outside hitter Adey Martin, who leads the Eagles in kills and aces, was named to the all-tournament team at Lake Forest recently. “Adey continues to show great leadership on and off the court and has provided energy and motivation throughout the season,” Lakes coach Sarah Yeager said.

Lovelyn Zamora leads Lakes in digs, while Deirdre Lowery is tops in blocks. Sophomore right-side hitter Ray Sundquist and senior middle blocker Riley Bell-Nance also are critical parts of the Eagles equation.

“Ray has established herself as one of our go-to players,” Yeager said. “She consistently steps up in crucial moments, providing a reliable force for this team. Riley also has stepped up, providing a much-needed block or kills when the team needs her most.”

Vernon Hills update: The Cougars were 17-9 overall and sitting in second place in the Central Suburban South at 5-1 to start the week. Niles West, which beat Vernon Hills, leads the conference. The two teams meet one more time in Niles.

More good news came in the form of a 5-0 run to the tournament title at Harvard — the fifth year in a row the Cougars have won the event. Vernon Hills didn’t lose a set there.

Coach Max Spiglanin has seen progress of late, in particular, from the likes of Olivia Packee, Emily Hammond, Veronica Ramirez and Kiersten Cieslinski.

“Olivia and Emily have stepped into their leadership roles, especially in this back half of the season,” he said. “They have realized what this team is capable of and are pushing their teammates to always mean business, holding everyone accountable and driving the team’s focus.”

Ramirez, the coach noted, has stepped into a new six-rotation role and has excelled defensively where she leads the team in digs (141 digs), while Cieslinski (all-tournament at Antioch) leads the team in kills (124 kills). “Kiersten’s all-around play has been a big factor in our success,” the coach added.

Ramirez also is tops in aces with 49, while senior middle Olivia Lehocky earned all-tournament at Antioch as well. Senior setter Hailey Spytek, junior outside Annabelle Smith and junior middle Emma Isakhanian also have starred.

Antioch update: Emma Crow and Kayliana Losinger have made big strides for the Sequoits, who started the week 11-10 overall and 3-2 in Northern Lake County play.

“Emma and Kayliana are stepping it up by constantly being positive leaders and voices on the court and have consistently worked their hardest every match,” Antioch coach Jimmy Lallaman said.

Crow (107 kills, 29 blocks, 27 aces), Ryen Lyndon (143 assists, 32 aces, all-tournament at Lonergan invite in September) and Mikayla Haskell (85 kills, 34 blocks) lead the way statistically.

“The team has vastly improved in keeping the ball alive and has worked to be a scrappy team,” Lallaman said. “They make other teams earn their points and have been working to spread their offense out.”

Libertyville update: Two big recent keys for the Wildcats (15-10, 2-2 North Suburban to start the week) have been Charlie Fleegle (team leader in digs at about 10 per match and in aces with 40) and Ella Sazy.

“Charlie has been a rock in the back row for us all season,” said Libertyville coach Greg Loika, whose squad recorded a 2-set win over 15-3-at-the-time Glenbrook North. “She allows us to do a lot of what we want to do on offense. Ella has been a steady blocker at the net. As she’s jumped into the lineup on the middle of late, she’s brought a nice presence there for our defense.”

Claire Evans (team-leading 137 kills), Elle Knight (127 kills), Grace Coughlin (team-high 38 blocks) and Makenzie Tyrrell (387 assists) also have been contributors.

“Our focus for the final month is to steady our performance game to game, and to be playing our cleanest and best volleyball as we finish the race,” Loika said. “I’m excited to see this group hit the gas in October.”

Mundelein update: Mundelein started the week 14-11 overall and 2-2 in North Suburban action. The Mustangs, who beat Libertyville in conference play, recently took second at the Lake Forest invitational where Norah Emso and Sophia Mitry (17 kills on 28 swings with no errors in pool play) were named to the all-tournament team.

“Norah has been an amazing leader and is in the top of all statistical categories for kills (110), aces (23), assists (174) and digs (95),” coach Jeff Blezien said. “She is a fierce competitor and is one of the main reasons we’ve been successful this year. Sophia, as a sophomore, has continued to grow throughout the year. Her aggression in the front row has been amazing on the attack and block, but she has most improved in her serving and floor defense for her 1 rotation in the back row.”

Blezien also lauded the efforts of junior Bella Snow and Allison Kampa. “Bella has had an amazing year, leading the team in aces (29) and assists (215), while second on the team in digs (107),” he said. “She is also one of our better blockers by getting a lot of block touches to slow down the other team’s attack. Allison has been solid all year. Her serve-receive has continued to improve throughout the season.”

Lucy Heikes (37 blocks) and Sarah Choi (156 digs) have also been key contributors.